Pirate101: Book 6: Don't Say Goodbye
by Dr.Musketeer23
Summary: A long war. A final attack. A friend in need of rescuing. All of these are challenges Merciless Adam Silver must face. He wants to save the Spiral, but he also wants to save Lenora. He doesn't know how he can do it, but he knows he has to. Until Flint is defeated, no one is safe. One last chance to make things right, one last chance to save the world, one last chance to say goodbye
1. Prologue

**A.N.: This book begins a crossing of universes. I hope you enjoy the end of the first arc of the Pirate101 adventures. The first chapter should be out sometime next week. Until then, enjoy the Prologue.**

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Prologue

"Agh!" Blaze hit the ground with tremendous force, the Kane armor absorbing some of the shock. He surveyed the area and identified his location as an alleyway. He struggled to his feet as he heard a strange whirring sound. Immediately, the privateer looked to his right arm. He touched the abandoned stump, his golden arm long gone. "Okay, that's not me, so what's that sound." A steel figure with glowing blue optics made its way toward Blaze.

"You don't belong here," the mechanical figure growled.

"Huh, I didn't know that clockworks could be so menacing." That was the wrong thing to say as the mechanical being knocked Blaze back down to the ground.

"Is that a new human insult for us?! Listen, buddy. I'm an omnic. I won't be talked down to by some fleshy creature." The omnic, as Blaze now knew they were called, raised its foot to stomp down on the pirate. Blaze raised his left arm, turning it to ice. The stomp was blocked and Blaze got back up. "You're an augmented?!" Blaze returned his arm to normal.

"Omnic? Augmented? Look, I don't want to hurt you. I'm just trying to figure out where I am."

"You're in Kings Row. London, England," another omnic stated, "More specifically, you're in the steelworks. Omnic territory. You don't belong here." Blaze grabbed his sword from his belt for defense. The omnics laughed. "You think that that little stick will hurt us?!"

"I've seen it do a lot worse to a lot stronger enemies than you."

"You little!" Enraged, the first omnic charged Blaze.

"You shouldn't have done that." Blaze slid on the ground below the omnic and cut its right leg off. The omnic fell to the ground.

"How did you do that?"

"This blade was designed to cut through metal. I tried to warn you, but you attacked." The other omnic attacked, picking up a steel pipe. Blaze blocked the attack and threw his sword to the ground. He pulled a sparkthrower from his belt and shot the omnic, the electricity from the spark bullet immediately frying the omnic's systems. Blaze kicked the omnic to make sure it was offline.

"He was my friend!"

"I have no problems with sentient machines, but you attacked me." Blaze holstered the sparkthrower and picked up his sword. He moved the blade by the dead omnic and severed its right arm. "I'm taking this and getting out of here. Don't follow me." Blaze exited the alley and saw a large clocktower in the distance. He was intrigued because, in addition to the standard clock hands, there were blue holographic circles spinning around the clock. _Where am I?_ The privateer saw an abandoned workshop. He made sure no one was looking and broke the lock, entering the building. Tools and wires were scattered around the room. "Now, let's see what you're made of." Blaze carefully cut the metal limb open, expecting to find gears and wires. Instead, he found tubes filled with a strange blue liquid and glowing wires. "Well, I'm definitely not in the Spiral anymore." He reconnected the outer shell of the arm and waved his hand over it. Immediately, a holographic interface appeared over the limb. Blaze read the words. "'Organic prosthetic limb or omnic replacement limb?' Well, it's a prosthetic." The holographic interface disappeared and a voice spoke.

"Ready for nervous system connection." Hesitantly, Blaze moved the arm to his stump. The limb fused itself to his skin and glowed a light blue.

"Woah," Blaze almost whispered in amazement. He flexed the fingers. "They almost feel like my real fingers. He spread his fingers out and a blue orb formed in his new appendage. He tossed the orb into his other hand. "Cool." He threw the orb at the wall and watched the orb burst against the stone. Burn marks spread from where the orb had made contact. "Okay, that is now a _last resort_ move." Blaze found a brown coat in the corner of the workshop and put it on over his armor. _Can't walk around looking like I'm ready for a fight._ Blaze went back out onto the street and made his way through the foreign landscape. He figured the clocktower would be a good place to start.

"Oi, mate," a high-pitched voice called out, "Are you alrigh'?" He turned around. A girl, maybe in her mid-twenties, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit and a brown aviator jacket stood behind her. She had short, spikey, brown hair and freckles covered parts of her Caucasian face. What drew Blaze's attention was the white device with a glowing blue core on her chest and the white greaves on her arms.

"Uh," Blaze stuttered, "Y- yeah. I'm fine."

"Sure, you are, mate. I could hear your stomach growling from a mile away." Blaze took a small step away from the girl. "Come on, I'll get you a bite."

"You don't even know me."

"So?"

"So… why would you go and feed someone you don't even know?" The brunette smiled.

"It's just who I am. I love to help people." She held out her hand. "My name's Lena Oxton, but you probably know me better as Tracer. I'm an agent of Overwatch. We're back and ready to help make the world a better place again." Blaze stared, confused. "Oi, you still there, luv?"

"Sorry, yeah. Um, I'm Merciful Blaze Silver. I'm not exactly from around here."

"Well," Lena chuckled, "That's an interesting name, luv. And don't worry, I'll show you around so you don't feel so lost."

"I'd like that." Blaze followed the woman through the streets of the place known as Kings Row. _She almost sounds like she's from Marleybone._ A ringing in Blaze's ears brought him to his knees. Lena saw this and kneeled down next to him.

"Hey, luv, what's wrong?" Blaze started to scream in agony. His gold and shadow aura formed around his body and exploded in the surrounding area. Windows shattered and mailboxes bent out of place. Tracer was sent flying, but activated her recall ability to get back next to Blaze. Tracer activated her communicator in her ear. "Angela, hey, luv. Hate to bother you on date night, but could you send the lovebird to my position. I need transportation back to base and I need you to prep the medbay. I've got an augmented losing control." Lena listened to Angela's response as Blaze convulsed again, another burst of energy running loose. "His name? Uh, Merciful Blaze Silver. … What do you mean he's not in any world databases?!" Another convulsion brought Lena back to reality. "Look, the bloke _obviously_ exists because he keeps releasing energy all over the place! Mercy! Send. Pharah. Now!" She clicked off her communicator and returned her attention to Blaze. She pulled out one of her pulse pistols. "You're not gonna like this, luv." She pistol-whipped him in the head, knocking him out. She heard the roar of jump jets and saw Pharah's signature blue armor descend. She looked back down at the stranger who had caused untold damage. "Who are you?"

Unknown to Lena Oxton, vivid images flew through Blaze's mind. Images that revealed information he hadn't possessed before his appearance in this foreign world.

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 **A.N.: Overwatch. The new world is Overwatch. Plain and simple.**


	2. Chapter 1 Combined Assault

**A.N.: I managed to push out 2 chapters in one sitting. Both under 1000 words, but I think they turned out pretty good. Remember to leave a review and share the story. Spread the word, people. Get my name out there. ... Ok, bye.**

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Ch. 1 Combined Assault

"Are you ready for this," The first cloaked figure asked. The second cloaked figure tightened their hood.

"These clockworks are too far gone to save. I will do what must be done." The cloaked figures' metal legs clicked against the ground. They departed the clockwork vessel and made their way to the center of Flotsam. The found a ventilation shaft and broke it open. They crawled through the opening, crammed in the metal tunnel. They found the room that held the coordinates they'd been given by Jillian and exited the vent. A bright red glow filled the room as dozens of clockworks activated.

"Intruders," a fusilier demanded, "Identify yourself." A bright golden glow surrounded the first cloaked figure. He threw off his cloak. A golden coat covered his body. His right, metal arm reached for his sword.

"As if you need to ask who _I_ am," Adam chuckled. He released a burst of pure energy, sending the clockworks flying into the walls of the control room. "You two ready?" Draco and Sagittarius appeared over Adam's shoulders.

"I'd prefer to work alone, but sure," Sagittarius commented.

"Hey, you don't hear me insulting you, do you?" Draco's reptilian form floated around the other personality matrix.

"Okay, stop arguing," Adam silenced. "Able, let's go." The clockwork threw off his cloak and opened up his body. Adam entered the armor, the metal limbs merging with his own.

"I'm still not entirely used to this merge," Able commented. Adam gripped the twin swords in his armored hands and scraped them against the ground. A burst of electricity shot from the swords as he touched the blades together, frying numerous clockworks.

"Nelson," Adam spoke into his communicator, "How's the skyway assault going?"

* * *

"Very well, Captain Silver," Nelson struck down a dark musketeer. "Your crew is tearing the enemy to shreds."

"And enjoying it," Ratbeard quipped. He threw a quake bomb at an enemy ship, splitting it in half. "It's good to have Wing back." The young crane had gotten his powers transferred back from Morgan and was grabbing people from enemy ships.

"And good to be back." Wing activated an energy blade and cut an enemy ship's boarding ropes, sending them falling into the depths of the Spiral Core. Ryan teleported to the attacking ship and stabbed his gauntlet blades into the chest of a dark buccaneer.

"Peyton, give me a gravity surge!" The privateer threw a gravity bomb and sent three dark pirates flying into the air. Ryan drew his sword and slashed them open. The swashbuckler teleported his sword into a battle angel's chest. Archangel floated down to him.

"It pains me to have to destroy my people." The clockwork battle angel had modified her appearance. Blue markings covered her arms and faceplate. She had her signature pistol and sword drawn. The battle angel shot at a fusilier that was taking aim at Ryan.

"A year ago, if someone had told me that I'd be okay with working _with_ clockworks, I'd have laughed." Ryan threw a throwing knife at a dark swashbuckler, pinning them to the mast of a ship. "She's all yours, Bonnie." A few seconds later, a bullet entered the dark pirate's skull.

* * *

"Good to know you're doing well out there," Adam clicked off his communicator. "Now, let's find the main controls." Adam exited the room and stepped out of Able. "I'll go to the top. You start on the lower levels."

"Consider it done." Able ran in the other direction. Adam looked back at the room they'd cleared. Dozens of clockwork bodies littered the room, scorch marks covered the walls and swords were strewn across the floor.

"Hey, Blaze," Adam switched his communicator back on, set to a private channel, "Any sign of _that ship_?"

"No, not a peep." Adam took a photo out of his pocket. It was him and Lenora dancing at her parent's wedding.

 _Don't worry, Lenora. I'm going to save you._ Adam made it to the top floor. There was a console in the room. Adam activated it and saw controls for the cannons surrounding Flotsam. He hit the shutdown button and deactivated the island's defenses. "Defenses are down, everyone. Begin the island assault." Adam looked out the window and saw dozens of ships from across the Spiral dock. Hundreds of soldiers from Mooshu, Cool Ranch, Marleybone, and Valencia set foot on the island, ready to fight. The sound of spark bullets and metal clashing filled the air.

"It's kind of a beautiful sight," Able commented. The clockwork stood next to Adam viewing the war that waged below their feet. "Every realm of the Spiral fighting together against a common enemy."

"I guess," Adam sighed, "But I won't be satisfied until every last trace of Flint's madness is gone from this world." Adam's communicator blinked and he answered. "What is it Gracie?"

"She's here. She's coming up on Flotsam's southern side." Adam moved to the opposite side of the tower and looked into the distance. A jet-black ship entered the skyway, a trail of black smoke following it.

"Get Sirena, Morgan, Riley, and Jordan onto the Golden Archer. Now!" Adam rushed out of the tower, sword in hand. "Archangel, I need a lift." The blue-marked battle angel swooped down and took Adam into her arms. The clockwork glided through the air and dropped Adam above the deck of his ship. Adam gripped the mast with his metal arm and slowed his descent to the main deck. "Bonnie, get this thing moving to the Dark Archer!"

"Aye, aye, Captain." The fox twisted the wheel and the ship went to meet its twin.

"Able, you think you can handle things on Flotsam?"

"Easily," Able answered. Adam called out Draco.

"You ready to leave, buddy?"

"I'll do anything to help free my true master." Draco's dragon tattoo disappeared from Adam's neck as his control chip appeared in Adam's palm.

"Don't worry, Lenora. I'm going to bring you home."


	3. Chapter 2 Phoenix

Ch. 2 Phoenix

"You sure about this?" Adam was gripping one of the ropes keeping the sails in place.

"Nope, not at all." Adam drew his sword, ready to cut the rope. Sagittarius disappeared. "Board that ship as soon as you get close. Riley, you know your job." The young musketeer nodded as Adam cut the rope. The pirate captain went flying through the air as he neared the enemy ship. A dark purple aura surrounded him as he teleported to the deck of the Dark Archer.

"I should have known you'd come," A familiar voice called. A young woman with pale white skin and red hair that went well past her shoulders walked down from the bridge. Her veins were pitch-black, allowing anyone to trace their pattern. It was a look that Adam had grown to love, minus the veins.

"Lenora," Adam spoke only her name. The dark pirate growled.

"That is not my name. I am Phoenix!" Phoenix drew her sword. "Lenora is dead." Adam drew his own sword.

"I don't believe that. She's still in there. I can feel it." Phoenix charged up her aura, a black shadow surrounding her. She let loose a stream of black flames from her hands.

"There is no Lenora; only Phoenix." Adam jumped out of the way of the black flames. "Your people cause only chaos, Flint brings order to the chaos." Adam drew his pistol and shot at Phoenix's feet.

"Whether you're Lenora or Phoenix, Flint is lying to you." Adam gestured at the fight taking place around Flotsam. "This isn't order; it's destruction."

"Don't listen to him, Phoenix." Tauros, with the Kane armor, joined her. "You know what your orders are." Phoenix smiled.

"Kill Merciless Adam Silver." Lenora charged and slashed at Adam with pure rage and savagery. Adam parried the attacks and slashed at Lenora's leg.

 _No. Not Lenora. Phoenix._ Adam reminded himself. _This isn't the woman I love. It's only a shadow._ The musketeer released a burst of golden energy, sending Phoenix flying backward. "Now would be a good time to attack!" Jordan, Sirena, and Morgan boarded the ship and engaged Kane.

"Let my daughter go!" Sirena smashed the hilt of her sword into Kane's faceplate. The personality matrix punched the privateer in the face, momentarily stunning her. Morgan shot at Kane's joints, severing its right leg from its body. Jordan smashed her scythe into the ground, sending a flurry of ice onto the deck of the ship. Ice encased the clockwork, preventing further movement. Three dark pirates engaged Adam's crew, preventing them from helping their captain.

"Let's hope Riley completes her job."

"You know who you really are, Lenora." Phoenix severed Adam's mechanical arm.

"I am NOT Lenora!" The swashbuckler activated her claws and tried to stab Adam in his chest, but a burst of electricity to the back caught her attention. She turned around and saw a young girl, silenced pistol in hand, behind her.

"Ah, Riley," Phoenix sneered, "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"I came for my friend, not this monster that looks like her," the young musketeer stated, "Give us Lenora back."

"This _monster_ is all that's left of Lenora. Her body is now my own, her mind is gone." Phoenix enveloped her claws in flames and cut Riley's pistol in half. Adam removed his sword from his severed metal limb and held it up.

"Focus on me!" Adam slashed at Phoenix's shoulder blade. The dark swashbuckler blocked and struck again, severing more of Adam's metal arm. This gave Riley the perfect opportunity to strike. She jumped onto Phoenix's back and grabbed ahold of her neck. The dark pirate shook her off and stabbed her in the leg.

"You shouldn't have done that." Phoenix drew a pistol and aimed it at Adam and Riley. A wave of pain flowed through her head and she dropped the pistol.

"Everyone, back to the ship. Now!" Adam grabbed Riley and teleported themselves back to the ship. Jordan, Morgan, and Sirena disengaged and returned to the Golden Archer.

"We'll come back for you, Lenora!" As the ships separated, Lenora's body let out a burst of black flames, killing her crew, but freeing Kane from his icy prison. Kane tapped some commands on his arm and a black glow emitted from Lenora's chest. Dark yum began to flow through her veins, calming her.

"You're injured, we need to take you back for reconditioning," Tauros stated.

"Yes. Reconditioning. I need more of it." Phoenix went below decks, leaving Tauros to steer the ship back to Skull Island.

* * *

"Did you do it?" Adam lay on the bed in his cabin. Riley showed her empty hands.

"Draco is now right where he belongs." Adam closed his eyes and smiled.

"Good job, Riley." Adam turned on his communicator. "Blaze, I, uh, need a new arm." There was an audible sigh on the other line.

"You know, you're lucky that I made spares." There was a momentary pause. "Did your plan work?" Adam smiled.

"Yes, Riley did a great job. Draco is now in Lenora's possession."

"Captain Silver," Nelson's voice filled Adam's ear, "Flotsam has now been liberated from Flint's control. Shall we continue to Skull Island?"

"No, Admiral. Tell all ships to find a safe place to resupply. We'll attack Skull Island when I give the order." The communicator clicked off. "Tell Bonnie to take us to Flotsam." Riley left. _"After two long months, I'm finally bringing you back."_


	4. Chapter 3 What are You?

**A.N.: So, I finally finished chapters 3-5. 6 is currently in the works. I think I'm making incredible time on this so far. Again, thank you everyone who has been following my work. It means a lot to me and gives me a reason to keep writing. Anyway, without further ado, back to the story.**

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Ch. 3 What are You?

 _"Do ya know what's wrong with him, doc?" Lena paced outside the containment room they were holding their new guest in. "Any idea what made him go berserk?" Angela clicked her pen and set down her clipboard._

 _"I have nothing. His physiology is like nothing I've ever seen before." The swiss doctor picked up a data pad and handed it to Lena to read._

 _"I don't understand any of this," Lena groaned, "I can barely understand how my accelerator works."_

 _"Right, sorry," Angela chuckled, "Well, I looked over his body and, besides the prosthetic, which I discovered he retrieved from an offlined omnic, there's nothing in his body that suggests he has any augmentations. His body seems to be constantly generating pure energy. I don't know how, but he is." Lena rested her hand on the door to the containment cell. "It must be hard, seeing somebody else stuck in this room." The young adventurer gave an audible sigh._

 _"No one should have to go through what I went through. I was stuck in there for months, and that was just when you and Winston managed to anchor me to the time line." Lena stepped back as another burst of energy filled the cell._

 _"Still no change?" Fareeha went up to Angela, leaning on her desk._

 _"No, no change," Angela responded. The doctor noticed that the Egyptian soldier had a mischievous smirk on her face. "I know what you're thinking. You know that I can't leave now. I have a patient to look over." Angela leaned close to her girlfriend. "Besides, Lena is right there."_

 _"Come on, we had to cut our date short." Fareeha held Angela's hand in her own. "An hour, habibti. We'll get a quick bite to eat, then you can come back and deal with energy man over there." Angela looked over to the young brit._

 _"Oh, go on already. I'm more than capable of keeping an eye on him. Besides, Winston'll be back soon, an' Athena can call you if anything goes wrong."_

 _"Thank you so much, Lena." Angela and Fareeha got up and left the room._

 _"No problem, doc." Tracer gave a little mock salute as the couple left. She turned back to stare through the window of Blaze's cell. "What are you?"_

* * *

"Flotsam has been lost to the pirates!?" Flint swept dozens of glasses off his counter.

"We were prevented from reaching the island," Phoenix reported, standing her ground, "The Golden Archer intercepted us. Had we made it in time, Flotsam would still be ours." An angry glare burned into Pheonix's eyes.

"Did you just give me an excuse?" Stunned, Phoenix took a step back. "Did you just cower in front of me?"

"I … I'm sorry, master," Phoenix apologized.

"Sir," Tauros interjected, "I was just taking Phoenix to reconditioning when you called us in here. I assure, when it is done, her attitude will be much improved." Flint took a deep breath.

"Very well, get her reconditioned and report back here to talk strategy with me." Phoenix and Kane bowed and left Flint's chambers. The dark pirate and personality matrix walked down the stairs of Flint's towers until they found a dark room with a single metal chair in the center.

"Take your seat," Kane ordered. The swashbuckler sat down and put her arms on the arm rests. The clockwork body took some rope and tied Phoenix's wrists to the arm rests. Tauros moved behind a console and began asking questions. "What is your name?" There was no response. Phoenix sat in the chair, silent, her shadow aura surrounding her. "What is _your_ name?" Phoenix blinked and Lenora's normal red eyes returned.

"My name is Red Lenora Noble!" The swashbuckler struggled against her binds. Tauros pushed a button on the console and dark yum flowed into Lenora's blood stream.

"What is your name!?" Lenora's veins blackened and she screamed in agony. "What is your name!?" Lenora's head rose and her eyes had returned to a pitch black.

"My name is Phoenix." If Tauros could have smiled, he would have.

"Who do you serve?"

"I live to serve Dark Flint Silver."

"How do you feel when you hear the name Merciless Adam Silver?"

"He is the enemy and must be destroyed. Lenora is no more. I am Phoenix."

"What are you?" Phoenix smiled.

"A weapon."

* * *

"So, this is Lenora's mind." Draco flew through the air, a desolate island rested below him. The personality matrix descended and entered a cave. "This must be where she rescued Able." The dragon's orange glow lit the cave, revealing multiple burn and scratch marks. As he delved deeper, the stone cave quickly changed to metal bars. "Where are you?"

"Who's there?" Draco sped up and ended up in front of a jail cell. Lenora leaned against the bars of her cell. "What the hell are you?"

"So, this is what's become of the great Red Lenora Noble. Rotting in the confines of her own mind." Lenora stood up, anger in her eyes.

"Hey, don't insult me. Do you know how many times I've broken out of here?! Each time I've escaped, that bitch Phoenix keeps sending me back here!" Lenora shook the bars of her cell. "I need to get back to Adam. Then, I need to take my sword and embed it deep in Flint's pathetic chest."

"That's why I'm here," Draco chuckled. A spout of flames spread from Draco's mouth, melting the bars locking Lenora in her cell. "My name is Draco and Adam sent me to free you. I am the personality matrix of selflessness. I am _your_ personality matrix." Lenora took a cautious step out of her cell. "I probably should have led with that, but I needed to be sure."

"Sure? Of what?"

"Of whether you still have the strength to take back your life." Lenora activated her golden aura and healed her recent subconscious injuries.

"I care about my friends more than I care about myself. I'm not escaping for myself; I'm escaping because I have to help them." Lenora drew her sword. "Now let's get out of here." The swashbuckler walked past her personality matrix.

"You risk a lot for the people you love. Why is that? What are you?" Lenora stopped and let out a small laugh.

"I can answer that with three words," Lenora turned and faced the dragon. "I'm a pirate."


	5. Chapter 4 Nightmare

Ch. 4 Nightmare

 _"Lenora!" Adam ran through the rubble of the Spiral chambers. The musketeer smashed through a weak piece of marble and found bodies littered all over the floor. His crew, the people he swore to keep safe, lay dead. Five figures stood at the edge of the room. Phoenix, Gareth, Hannah, Tauros, and Flint towered over the bodies. "You?"_

 _"You're weak," Tauros chastised, "If you'd been stronger, they'd still be alive." Adam drew a sparkthrower and shot Tauros, his body disappearing in a burst of smoke._

 _"You should have stayed dead. Then you wouldn't have to see our success." Adam drew his sword and decapitated Gareth. His body fell and sank into the ground. Rage grew in Adam's eyes. Hannah drew her own sword and stabbed Adam in his stomach._

 _"You LOVED Mary. Why did you leave her for that red-haired BITCH!" Adam activated his melting blade powers and cut the witchdoctor's sword in two._

 _"Don't talk about Lenora like that!" Adam severed Hannah's right arm. The musketeer raised his pistol and shot his former friend in the forehead. Black smoke rose from the hole as Hannah's body disintegrated. Adam turned to face Flint. The dark pirate held Phoenix's body in front of him, a pistol held against her head. "Let her go, Flint," Adam growled through gritted teeth._

 _"But I hold all of the power," Flint chuckled. "This is a win-win for me. You shoot me and I shoot her. Your girlfriend is dead. You let me go, and she stays with me." Phoenix laughed at the thought._

 _"Such a shame, isn't it? You have no way out." Adam's hand wavered at the thought of killing Lenora. Phoenix took the opportunity and rushed Adam, disarming him and stabbing him through the heart with his own sword. Adam gasped as the color drained from his face. "Nothing like your heart taking your heart." Phoenix twisted the blade a full ninety degrees._

* * *

"Ah." Adam fell out of his bed, barely able to break his fall with his remaining hand. The musketeer stood up and reached his left arm over to feel his stump.

"Adam," Sagittarius shouted as he appeared over Adam's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," the pirate captain responded, "Just a bad dream." Adam walked out of his cabin and left his ship. _Maybe Blaze has finished making the adjustments to my new prosthetic._ He descended the boarding planks and walked the streets of Port Regal. The moon and lanterns illuminated the cobblestone streets. Adam entered the tower he and Lenora had taken over during the assault to retake the island. Lights illuminated the inside of the building. Adam heard metal clanking and peeked inside an open doorway. Mary was sparring with Archangel. The witchdoctor had on a pair of magnetic gloves and was using them to recall the sword she'd forged a couple weeks ago. The blade had been tinted green with a serpent's head at the end of the hilt. The battle angel circled around her, sizing her up. She struck, but Mary blocked the attack. _Good form._ Mary blocked another attack and shifted her blade so that it was parallel to Archangel's she spun the blade and disarmed her.

"Good work, Mary," Archangel yielded, "You've come a long way in such a short time frame." Mary sheathed her own sword while the clockwork retrieved hers.

"I have good reason to," the serpent master replied, "Lenora was captured because I wasn't strong enough. I need to make it right. I have to try." Mary sat down on the bench at the far end of the room. "I still have nightmares about that day." Archangel stood still, her faceplate still facing Mary.

"What is a nightmare?" Mary looked confused at the clockwork, then laughed.

"I keep forgetting that you just learned about free thought." Mary slapped her knee and sat up straight. "Well, a dream is a vision that appears in your mind while you sleep. It can be the manifestation of a memory or an original thought that presents a message. A nightmare is similar. It can be a bad memory or a negative thought that manifests your worst fears." Archangel took a seat next to Mary.

"What exactly do you see in these nightmares?" Mary rested her chin on her hands.

"I'm running with Lenora, trying to get away from my sister, Hannah. I keep running, but Lenora starts to slow down. I reach for her hand to keep her with me, but I look back and Hannah has her. My sister smiles and the two vanish like dust in the wind." Scared of going into shock, Mary stands up and begins pacing. "The worst part of it is, as I stand there, alone, a voice starts calling out. 'You want this. She deserves this. It's what you want.' The voice is mine." Archangel's faceplate has been following Mary this entire time.

" _Is_ it what you wanted?" Mary stopped pacing and faced the clockwork battle angel.

"No. No, I loved Adam; I'll admit to that, but my time with him passed," the witchdoctor explained, "My sister's getting to me. She thinks that with Lenora gone, I'll finally be happy with Adam. She thinks that'll make me happy, but it won't. I only care that Adam's happy." Archangel stood up and guided the witchdoctor toward the entrance.

"Your love is not one of romance, but of friendship. You can't bear to see your friend in pain. You'll make things right, I know it." Fearing detection, Adam left the doorway and proceeded on his search for Blaze.

"Hey," Mary called out to Adam, "What's up?" Adam turned to face the witchdoctor and clockwork.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep so I was going to see if Blaze had finished the adjustments for my new arm."

"You overheard us talking," Archangel stated.

"What?" Adam drew out the question. "No, I just got here. How could I have heard what you two were talking about?" Mary and Archangel's expressions didn't change. Adam sighed, "Yeah, I heard you." Mary turned to walk away. "And I'm glad you're still here, fighting with me. I know it hasn't been easy dealing with me these past few months." Mary chuckled.

"It has been easier now that you're not wallowing in constant despair." Adam smiled. "I will help you get her back." Adam smiled.

"That's all I'm asking." Adam left the two and climbed the steps of the tower to find Blaze.

"What are you doing up?" Blaze stood in his room's doorway, leaning against the doorsill. "I told you that the calibrations would be done in the morning."

"I thought I'd see how it was coming along." Blaze stared at his younger brother as Gracie walked up behind him, wearing pajamas.

"You couldn't sleep again, could you?" Reluctantly, Adam nodded. "You can't keep doing this, Adam. You need your sleep."

"You try sleeping when you've literally got the weight of the world on your shoulders." Gracie went back into the room and rummaged through her things. She came back with her signature wrench.

"There's more than one way to fall asleep." Adam's entire body stiffened.

"I'm suddenly very tired. Good night." Adam walked away. As the musketeer descended the stairs, Gracie put her wrench away.

"You know, the calibrations finished about an hour ago," Gracie stated as she pulled the covers of their bed back over her.

"He needs the sleep," Blaze crawled in next to her.

"How'd you even know he was coming?"

"After the last time, I told Sagittarius to send me a message when he wakes up. Last time was… really embarrassing." Gracie buried her face in her paws.

"We really can't have a nice romantic moment, can we?" Blaze chuckled before planting a kiss on her nose.

"Don't worry, we'll have one good moment at some point." Blaze pulled the covers over him and cuddled with his girlfriend. "One good moment."


	6. Chapter 5 Burn

Ch. 5 Burn

"Why don't we just go and take Skull Island," a marleybonian officer asked. He and countless others were standing watch on the blockade around Skull Island Skyway. "If we have such a huge advantage, why wait?"

"Because it's Flint's final foothold." The dog turned to face Pedro. "He'll have consolidated his defenses there. All of his remaining forces will have a homefield advantage. We can't rush in without planning."

"But with your powers, shouldn't this be easy?" Pedro put his hands on his hips.

"Our powers take a lot of energy out of us. We use them too much, and we're useless for a good bit." Pedro looked out at the skyway. "It's our home, but we're willing to wait for the right moment to take it back." A loud explosion brought Pedro and the dog officer back to reality. Pedro looked over and saw that a Rajan skiff had exploded. "What the hell?" Another ship, a mooshu frigate, went up in flames and Pedro and the dog hit the deck. Pedro peeked over the railing and saw a jet-black ship sailing towards them. A fire ball made its way towards them. Pedro activated his tornado powers, extinguishing the fireball.

"I have a message for the _great_ Merciless Adam Silver," Phoenix shouted, "It's time for our fight to end." The dark pirate sent another fireball at another ship. It fell to pieces, sinking into the abyss of the Spiral. "In three days, we meet in Jonah Town. A final showdown to end our fight. One shall survive, me or him." The Dark Archer turned away from the blockade. "He kills me or the Spiral burns!" As the enemy galleon sailed away, Pedro kneeled on the ground, exhausted from the energy needed to extinguish the ball of fire. The officer helped him to his feet, giving him support on his shoulder.

"Get me a skiff. I need to get to Port Regal by daybreak."

* * *

"She wants what?" Adam had gathered his crew in the war room of Port Regal's tower. Needless to say, Jordan had many reservations about this information.

"A duel. One on one, just her and Adam. A fight to the death." Pedro pulled up a map of Jonah Town. "She's chosen Jonah Town as their battleground." Adam stared at the map. "Adam, you kill Phoenix and we take Jonah Town and Flint has one less lieutenant."

"You don't actually expect Adam to do this," Bonnie asked.

"Why wouldn't he," Ratbeard argued, "It's our best chance to defeat Flint."

"But it's not just Phoenix that he's fighting, is it? That's also my daughter," Sirena stated, "Anything he does to Phoenix will be done to Lenora."

"Well, then what do we do?" A soft beep filled the room as Jillian's mark floated over the table. Adam pushed a button on the table and the spy's face formed over the metal.

"Jillian, what a pleasant surprise," Morgan stated.

"Adam, would you care to explain to me what happened in that last fight at Flotsam?" Jillian was angry.

"Oh, right, no one gave me a chance to explain. I had Riley put Draco in Lenora's body." Adam smiled.

"You're joking. Tauros would easily detect that."

"Not if Blaze and I modified him with some cloaking abilities to become virtually invisible to any scanning Tauros may do." Adam stood up from his chair. "When Blaze broke free from Tauros' control, it took me and my mother's ghost to break him out. When I was suicidal, it took all of you to make me believe in life again. When Kyle was brainwashed, it took his own willpower and Lenora to break him free. Lenora is strong, and I'd bet my life that she's been fighting to break out of her mind this entire time, but no one can do it alone." Ryan looked up at Adam.

"You sent Draco in to give her a boost. Help her escape her own mind." Adam nodded. The musketeer turned back to Jinx.

"I know you told me that the only way she'd be free is if I killed her, but I'm not strong enough. I couldn't live with myself if I killed her." The dark privateer shook her head on the screen.

"You're taking a pretty big risk doing something like that. Phoenix is strong. With all of the reconditioning she's had, there may not be a Lenora left to save." Adam threw a dagger through the holographic face and left the room. "I'm sorry to say this, but it's true. Just a few hours ago, Phoenix requested reconditioning. She's beating Lenora into submission."

"If you had a chance to save Kristen," Riley asked, "Would you risk anything to see her again?"

"Sadly, yes. Flint took her from me and I'd do anything to get her back."

"Then you know how Adam feels," Peyton stated. "He's lost more than anyone because of Flint. His mother, his father, his home, and now his girlfriend. As personal as it sounds, we'd all risk anything to help Adam after all he's done for us." Peyton held Ryan's hand in her own. "We _owe_ him that."

"I guess I can't stop you guys," Jillian sighed, "Besides, it might be time for me to show my true colors soon. Being close to the guy that killed your wife is very difficult." A loud thunk on Jillian's end of the call got the dark pirate's attention. "I've got to go. We'll talk soon." The connection was severed and the holo interface disappeared.

"Are we really going to let Adam do this," Wing asked.

"He doesn't have a choice," Blaze stated, "Phoenix is giving him a shot and he's taking it. The most we can do right now is support him. It's that or, like Phoenix said, we all burn."

* * *

"Get down!" Lenora ducked as Draco released a stream of flames against two clockworks. "Two dark pirates coming in on your right." Lenora stabbed her sword through one's mouth and slashed her claw across the other's chest. Draco picked up a pistol in his mouth and threw it to Lenora. The swashbuckler cocked the pistol and shot the dark pirate. "Explain to me how you couldn't break out of your mind on your own again." Lenora holstered the pistol and sheathed her sword. Her claw automatically retracted.

"Phoenix loves her reconditioning. Whenever I'd get close to breaking free, she'd recondition and overpower me. Her reconditionings make her stronger. Freaking annoying." Lenora let out a burst of golden fire to burn a wooden barricade ahead of her. "At least with you here, I should stand a better chance before she can recondition." The two followed the path. "You should hide. Can't have her know that there's someone else in my mind." The scenery slowly changed from a dark jungle to an obsidian-black room. A lone figure stood in the center. She turned around and Lenora faced a dark version of herself. "Hello, Phoenix."

"You love being a thorn in my side, don't you?" The familiar face bothered Lenora, knowing her body was being used to do horrible things.

"You've taken myself," Lenora quipped, "And I've come to take myself back." The swashbuckler drew her sword as Phoenix drew hers.

"You'll burn!"


	7. Chapter 6 Escape

**A.N.: Three more chapters rolling out now. There's some campy humor in chapter 6, but everything else is pretty serious. Hope you enjoy and I'm working on the next few chapters. They should be out within the week. Until then, enjoy the adventure!**

* * *

Ch. 6 Escape

 _"His body seems to be stabilizing," Winston pushed his glasses up on his face. The gorilla hefted his body into his chair. "Athena, give me the latest scan." Athena's logo popped onto the computer screen._

 _"It is as you said, the unknown has reached a stable point." Tracer walked back into the laboratory._

 _"So, he's going to be alrigh'?"_

 _"Maybe. A brief calm could simply mean his energy bursts will reach a final high point before cycling out."_

 _"Do ya even know what's causing these energy bursts?"_

 _"His body seems to be adjusting to its new environment. He's not from our world." Lena blinked._

 _"Well, what other world could he be from?" A groan drew the two's attention._

 _"Where in the Spiral?" Blaze stood up. He noticed he was in some sort of containment cell. "Hey, where am I?"_

 _"You are at Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Off the southern coast of Spain." Blaze tried to process the information._

 _"Spain?"_

 _"Ya know, most people would be freaked out to be talking with a gorilla," Lena stated. Blaze shrugged._

 _"It's not the first time. I met Gortez once before he set sail for the Isle of Doom."_

 _"Isle of Doom," Winston asked._

 _"Yeah, small cursed island in the middle of Tradewinds Skyway." Winston went to his computer and typed up the information Blaze had just given him._

 _"You really don't know where you are, do ya, mate?" Blaze shook his head. He looked down at his body, he was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. His prosthetic arm had also been removed._

 _"Hey, where's my armor? And my arm?"_

 _"We took all of it. With the intensity of your energy bursts, we couldn't risk either of them melting into your skin. We did it to protect you," Winston stated. Blaze rubbed the back of his head with his remaining limb._

 _"I guess I can't blame you. I wouldn't even trust me."_

 _"What's tha' supposed to mean?" The small brit moved into Blaze's view._

 _"Look, I'm grateful that you're taking care of me, but I don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to making friends." Blaze held his hand toward the door. "Which is why I hate to have to do this." The privateer released a combined burst of dark and golden energy, knocking down the door. Tracer and Winston jumped out of the way as Blaze exited the containment cell. Blaze rushed to the door, releasing another burst of energy to break it open. "I really am sorry, but I can't waste time rotting in a cell. I still have a job to do." Blaze saw a window and jumped through the glass, quickening his descent with his teleportation power. Tracer ran to the window in time to see him warp to the ground._

 _"The bloody hell?" Tracer went back into the laboratory. "Athena, contact Mercy and Pharah and tell them to cut their dinner short. We've got work to do."_

* * *

"Are you ready for this? We only have three days." Ryan stood in front of Able and Adam, all of them with their weapons drawn.

"Whenever you are," Adam replied. On cue, Ryan multiplied, his copies surrounding his captain and the clockwork. "Let's do this." Able opened his mechanical body. Adam tossed his sword into the air as he entered the living armor. As the mechanical limbs surrounded his body, the joined pair caught the sword. "All of this power; it's scary, but good." Adam spun his swords and built up electricity in the blades.

"I agree," Able's voice echoed from the armor. "A fully symbiotic relationship between man and machine." Two of Ryan's copies charged the singular entity, but were swiftly struck down by Adam's swords. The musketeer's weapons were now fully charged. Gracefully, the pirate guided the electricity around his body with the swords before straightening the blades, giving the lightning a direct path toward a cluster of Ryan's clones.

"Good job," Ryan commented, "But you'll have to do better than that to escape my grasp." The assassin motioned for another group of his copies to attack Adam and Able. Adam planted the leg with his metal leg firmly on the ground and raised his right leg. He flicked his foot, extending a small blade from the armor. Able's body began to spin on the limb, allowing Adam to spin with his weapons extended in a wide circle. The clones disintegrated upon contact with his blades. As Able slowed to a stop, Adam climbed out of the armor, his face green with sickness. "Hey, are you okay?" Adam held up a finger to stop him from continuing this line of thought only for his lunch to escape his body onto the floor.

"I… wasn't expecting to do that right after lunch." Able's body closed as he regained full control of his body.

"Sorry. I forget that you humans have a digestive system that can regurgitate your natural fuel given too much motion stimuli." Ryan rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, most people just call it extreme motion sickness."

"Oh," Able chuckled, "I know. I just like annoying you with my long drawn out explanations." Adam and Ryan looked at each other, then back to Able.

"Surprisingly, that's not the most annoying thing I've ever known someone to do."

"Well, what is the most annoying thing someone you've known has done," Adam asked. Ryan rubbed his face with his hands.

"I knew I'd get roped into telling this story," he groaned, "Alright, way back before the Armada started wreaking full-on havoc on the Spiral, Pedro would like to take us to this fancy Mooshu restaurant. Great place, but, here's the thing, once a week they had an open stage night and _every time_ Pedro would go up on stage, sing, and ruin everyone's ear drums. It got to the point where we just stopped going."

"Was he singing horrible on purpose?" Ryan shrugged.

"Nope, he's just naturally horrible, but none of us ever had the heart to tell him. Hearing him try to sing every week was the most annoying thing I've ever had to sit through. Now the secret dies with me." Ryan's eyes widened as he realized he just told them the story. "And you two! As long as you live, you can never tell Pedro that he is a horrible singer!" Ryan heard his communicator ping.

"Hey, Ryan," Blaze spoke, "You give your communicator to anybody recently?" Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"No, why?"

"Because that means you never turned it off and left it broadcasting on an open channel. Anyone with a communicator just heard what you said. _And_ I don't have Pedro's communicator." The swashbuckler switched off the communicator.

"Shit!" Ryan saw a window a few feet above him and jumped to kick it open.

"What are you doing," Able asked. As Ryan pulled his feet up and sat on the windowsill, he looked down to face the clockwork commander.

"Escaping while I still can! I'm not dying before this war is over!"

* * *

"Report, lieutenant." Jillian turned to face Flint.

"The preparations you asked to be made for Jonah Town have been complete. Traps on every corner and three reserve dark energy generators." Flint smiled.

"Good." The dark pirate leader laid his hand on the privateer's shoulder. "Again, I am sorry about your wife, but she was weak. Weak enough to fall for the lie of a life without darkness. I hope you can forgive me." Jillian clenched her fist and released it.

"I know what needs to be done, Lord Flint. You can count on that." The eldest Silver left Jillian alone in her room in Skull Island's dark tower. As soon as Flint closed the door, the dark privateer pulled out her bag. She took her data drive and loaded any hardware she could into the pack. She moved to her closet and took out her wife's rifle and began to disassemble it, placing each piece into the bag. She looked to the top shelf and saw a framed picture of her and Kristen. She stared at the image, a single tear running down her face.

"You're going to fully join the resistance?" Jillian placed the picture in her bag and grabbed some spare magazines of spark bullets from the closet.

"I'm jus' doin' what you asked of me," Jillian put the magazines in her bag. "You wanted a life after this war and my one regret is that I couldn't give you that." The dark privateer turned to gaze upon the ghost of her wife. "I know that I'll pay for my part if Flint's rise to power, but there's someone who deserves a life more than either of us did."

"What do you need me to do?"


	8. Chapter 7 Ashes

Ch. 7 Ashes

"Are you ready, Captain Silver," Admiral Nelson asked.

"We'll be gone for a while. Don't let down your guard. Flint could try a sneak attack while I'm fighting Phoenix." Adam looked out at the dark horizon and sighed. "I know that I just tried to dodge your question. I don't know if I'm ready, but I've never had that luxury."

"At least you're honest. Who is going with you?"

"Able, Ryan, Riley, Blaze, Archangel, and Mary. Everyone else will be here, helping you keep up the blockade." Nelson made his way to the boarding planks. "I know that this fight seems personal. Well, it is."

"I wasn't condemning your choice to fight," Nelson stated, "I respect it." The dog turned back to Adam. "Lenora is a wonderful woman. Free her from Flint's grasp." Nelson left the Golden Archer, boarding the Endurance. Ryan and Blaze removed the boarding planks as the two ships separated. With his remaining arm, the admiral saluted the small crew. "God speed, Merciless Adam Silver."

* * *

"This is it," Adam stated. He and his team stepped onto the dock of Jonah Town. Shoulder to shoulder, the crew walked the streets of the floating city. As they entered the center of Jonah Town, Phoenix came into view. With the dark pirate was Jinx and Gareth.

"I see you brought some friends," Phoenix chuckled, "Good. I want there to be witnesses to your death."

"I'm not dying here and neither are you." Adam drew his sword. "Do you remember this sword?"

"A sword is a sword," the dark swashbuckler sneered, "It doesn't matter what it's history is."

"You built it, Lenora. Your sword and mine are one and the same." Phoenix drew Lenora's sword. Her black veins grew even darker as anger blared in her eyes.

"I am _NOT_ Lenora!" The dark swashbuckler lunged at Adam. Her sword barely missed Adam's leg as the musketeer jumped back. "She is dead!" Phoenix flicked her left wrist, unleashing her claw. "All that remains is the Phoenix!" Adam used his sword to block the slash from Phoenix's claw and pushed back, forcing his assailant to back away.

"That's not true. Lenora is still in there, fighting you." Adam turned his arm to ice, stopping a slash from Lenora's sword. The pirate leader formed a ball of electricity in his mechanical hand and unleashed it on Phoenix, stunning her. Taking the opportunity, Adam teleported behind Phoenix and kicked her in the knee, bringing her to the ground. Phoenix teleported behind Adam and let out her own ball of electricity. Adam caught the electric burst with his sword and directed it toward one of the abandoned buildings. "You have to break free, Lenora!"

"She can't hear you," Gareth chuckled, "She's been put in submission so many times that the only thing she knows anymore is the Phoenix." Phoenix's dark aura surrounded her as she charged up her dark fire. Adam made a fist with his metal arm and Able ran toward the pirate captain. His body opened, allowing Adam sanctuary.

"Get to cover," Blaze shouted. Adam's crew moved to the surrounding buildings as Phoenix's black flames scourged the town. The flames bounced off of Able's body, protecting Adam. Riley stepped out of hiding, but into a trap. A rope wrapped itself around her legs and hoisted her into the air. Seeing the predicament, Ryan teleported into the air and cut the line, freeing the young musketeer. As Ryan landed, a soft clicking could be heard. The assassin ducked just in time as a sharpened piece of wood penetrated the building's wall.

 _"They rigged the place,"_ Ryan muttered under his breath. "Adam, there are traps all over Jonah Town! Be careful!" Riley and Ryan started making their way around the perimeter of the battlefield, triggering any traps they could find in order to even the playing field.

"You cannot beat the Phoenix," the dark swashbuckler cackled, "A Phoenix is immortal. From Lenora's ashes, I rose. You? You shall remain ash!" Phoenix threw a dagger at Adam, but it simply bounced off of his armored body.

"A for effort," Adam commented, "But Lenora hit three times harder than you. She's not weak." Adam picked up the dagger and threw it back at Phoenix, pinning her pants sleeve to the ground. "She was just put at a huge disadvantage."

* * *

"You're both weak." Phoenix's blade clashed with Lenora's. "I'm fighting you in here and Adam out there. Even with that pathetic excuse of a clockwork's help, he doesn't stand a chance." Lenora pushed on her blade, breaking their lock.

"We might surprise you. Draco!" On command, the personality matrix materialized and sprayed fire on Phoenix. The dark pirate stepped back in pain. "You have your tricks and Adam and I have ours. Time to even the field." Lenora sent out a burst of flames from her hands, forming a ring of fire around the three fighters.

"How did that _thing_ get here?" Phoenix stood up, pointing her sword at Draco.

"I'm a little parting gift from Adam and Riley. You should really mind your surroundings in battle." Draco flew toward the dark personality, wrapping his body around her. "Now, Lenora!" The swashbuckler jumped into the air to increase the force of her strike. As she descended, a dark aura surrounded Phoenix. A blast of dark energy knocked Lenora and Draco to the ground.

* * *

"Is that the best you can do?" A dark shadow formed in between Jillian and Gareth. "You are supposed to be my strongest fighter, yet you are so easily bested?" Flint had his hands behind his back as he stepped forward to better view the fight.

"Sir, if I only had a bit more power," Phoenix begged.

"No, I gave you many chances. I gave you so much power, but still you fail me." The dark pirate raised a pistol. "I do not have need for a broken weapon." Flint shot at Phoenix, but Adam projected a golden shield in front of her.

"You won't hurt her!" Adam changed targets and rushed toward Flint.

"Fool," the dark pirate chuckled. Flint pushed a button on his wrist and Phoenix howled in pain. Dark energy coursed through her veins, increasing her dark powers. She formed a black fireball and guided it toward Adam, slamming it into his side. Adam and Able rose and returned their attention to Phoenix.

"No, not again." Adam raised his sword in time to block a strike from Phoenix.

* * *

"Looks like I just got a boost, again." Phoenix exerted a large amount of dark energy on Lenora and Draco, pinning them to the ground. "Like I said, you will burn." Phoenix extended her claws, ready to tear Lenora and Draco to shreds.


	9. Chapter 8 Rebirth

Ch. 8 Rebirth

"Lenora, you have to fight back! Fight the Phoenix!" Adam swept the dark pirate's legs out from under her. Flint joined in the fight, but was blocked by Blaze. The privateer smashed his metal arm into Flint's gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"This is Adam's fight. You," Blaze held his sword to his father's throat, "Will _not_ interfere." Flint drew his sword and smashed his weapon against the artificial limb.

"I don't care whose fight it is; _I_ always win." The dark pirate leader teleported behind Blaze and kicked him to the ground. Blaze flipped his sword around and stabbed the blade into Flint's leg, black blood oozing from the wound. "You have a spark of tenacity, son. I'll give you that, but only that." Blaze stood up and froze his arm just in time to block a sword strike from Tauros.

"That's my armor!" Blaze drew a spark thrower and shot at his creation. The armor moved, dodging the bullet.

"Then you should have kept it," Tauros laughed. "Then again, you probably don't have the will to put it on again. After all of the death and destruction you've caused, you'd become the monster the Spiral fears again." Blaze slashed his sword at the armor-clad matrix.

"I'd make sure that armor is made to do some good than let you keep it. Archangel!" The clockwork flew above Blaze, swooping down to take him in her hands. "Circle back around. We can't let them near Adam and Lenora." The privateer slid down to the battle angel's legs, holding on with his metal arm while wielding his sword with his left hand. He slashed at Tauros as he passed between the matrix and the dark pirate. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaze saw a small squad of dark pirates approaching. "Ryan," the privateer spoke into his comm, "There's dark pirates coming from the eastern side of Jonah Town. Keep them away from the battlefield."

"On it." Ryan clicked off his commlink and made his way to the eastern side.

"Dark energy generators are down," Riley stated, "Jillian was telling the truth. Flint's got no more power in reserve to keep Lenora in check." The musketeer followed Ryan.

"Head back to the battlefield. Adam and Able will need your help getting Lenora back to the ship."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I've got Pegasus." Ryan multiplied, creating a wall of copies in front of the battle field. As the dark pirates approached, his miniature army charged, tackling each dark pirate to the ground. A flap of wings signaled that Archangel was above him. The clockwork and Blaze unleashed a volley of spark bullets, wounding Ryan's opponents. He turned back to Riley. "Go!" The young musketeer started running, pulling out her pistol along the way.

* * *

"You chose your side." Phoenix stabbed her left claw into Lenora's right leg. "You chose wrong." He right claw dug into Lenora's abdomen. Both claws struck viciously into Lenora's stomach. "Only Phoenix can survive!" The red-haired swashbuckler lay bleeding on the ground. Phoenix moved to Draco, ready to finish the matrix off.

"I'm so sorry, Adam," Lenora sobbed, "I wasn't strong enough."

"Not strong enough," a voice echoed, "That doesn't sound like the Lenora I know." A tanned figure floated in front of her, his missing arm becoming more noticeable the closer he got.

"Brave? But how?" Brave held out his hand.

"Ford. He got one last attack in after he died. Bastard blew himself up and left me full of shrapnel."

"You didn't deserve that. You deserved a long life with your daughter."

"There was always a risk with this war. I was just unlucky, like so many others."

"You fought so hard to keep everyone safe, but your fight isn't over yet." Kristen walked up beside the sniper.

"Kristen, I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I died trying to do the right thing." Kristen and Brave helped the swashbuckler to her feet. "We're with you, every step of this fight. You are the master of your fate, not Phoenix or Flint. You control what you do, not Phoenix or Flint."

"And we're not the only ones who believe that," Brave stated. For a brief moment, Lenora caught a glimpse of the outside world. Adam crossed blades with Phoenix.

 _"Your name… is Red Lenora Noble! You joined my crew when we set sail for El Dorado. You showed me that anyone could overcome untold darkness. You stood by me when I requested help from the Spiral. You came to my aid when I lost my arm and leg. You took over for me when I wasn't myself. You saved Able. You saved me from Gareth. You helped me walk again. You never care about what happens to yourself. You are the strongest woman I know." Adam disarmed Phoenix. "And I love you."_ A flash of red shone in Lenora's eyes. Her golden aura surrounded her, fixing her wounds.

"Hey, Phoenix!" The dark pirate turned to face Lenora and her ghostly allies. The two musketeers readied their rifles. "We're not done here."

"You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"I never give up!" Lenora warped behind the dark pirate and thrust her blade through Phoenix's left shoulder. Lenora's dark personality drew a spark thrower, but the golden swashbuckler kicked her to the ground and stomped on the pistol. "You and Flint took me from my family." Brave and Kristen fired their rifles at the dark pirate's legs. Black blood ran down from the wounds. Lenora picked up Draco, allowing him to float once more. "I can never forgive that." Lenora drew her claws and stabbed them into Phoenix's chest. Phoenix's body began to disintegrate.

"No. I am Phoenix. I bring order to the chaos." Lenora placed her foot on her chest.

"A phoenix is a firebird that rises from the ashes. You're not a phoenix; you're just another one of Flint's monsters." Lenora took her sword and stabbed it into Phoenix's head. The dark body faded away as the swashbuckler sheathed her sword.

"You're free, Lenora," Kristen stated, "Free of Flint's control. Free of the Phoenix."

"What are you going to do now," Brave asked. Lenora smiled.

"Draco and I are getting out of here and are going to make Flint pay. For you, for me, for everything."

* * *

"Snap out of it, Lenora!" Adam pushed back on Phoenix. Her body froze, kneeling on the ground.

"No, this can't happen," Flint snarled. He unleashed a burst of dark energy, knocking Blaze back. "Activating all dark energy generators." The dark pirate pushed a button on his wrist, activating the generators. Three explosions rang throughout Jonah Town, dark energy shooting up into the sky.

"Sorry buddy," a high-pitched voice chuckled. Riley jumped over the dark pirate and shot him in the shoulder. Gareth drew a spark thrower, but the young musketeer was faster. She shot the weapon from his hand. "Your dark energy generators are down. Courtesy of moi."

"Ignorant brat!" Flint let loose a burst of dark energy, sending her flying into Adam. The pair skidded across the ground. "Now, rise Phoenix!" Flint shot a concentrated burst of dark energy at Phoenix. Phoenix screamed out in pain, the dark energy swirling around her before slowly dissipating. "Now, what are you?" Phoenix stood up, eyes closed.

"I am the phoenix. An immortal firebird that is reborn from the ashes."

"No," Adam yelled. He slammed his fist into the ground.

"I'm sorry, Adam," Riley sobbed.

"Able," Adam ordered as he crawled out of the armor, "Find Mary and get the ship ready. We need to go now." The clockwork did as he was told and searched for the witchdoctor.

"I'm afraid escape won't be an option in a few minutes," Flint chuckled, "Phoenix, activate your annihilation field." Phoenix stood still. "Phoenix, I gave you and order."

"I am the phoenix. The immortal firebird, reborn from the ashes of my former self." The black veins of Lenora's body faded until they were no longer noticeable. "Phoenix rose from my ashes. Now, from the ashes of Phoenix, I have risen again." The swashbuckler turned to the sound of Flint's voice. Her eyes opened, revealing flame red pupils. "You took my life from me, Flint. Three months of my life gone. I am not the weapon you tried to make me." Lenora charged up her golden aura. "I am the pirate of noble blood, master of flames, co-leader of Skull Island. I am Red Lenora Noble!" A blast of golden flames formed around the golden swashbuckler's body, forming the soaring firebird behind her.

"So," Flint scoffed, "You broke free of Phoenix's control."

"I had some help," Lenora stated.

"It's a shame, I really didn't want to kill you." Flint held up his wrist. "I still have one last trick up my sleeve." The dark pirate reached to push a button, but was cut off by two spark bullets to the chest. He turned around and saw Jinx, rifle in hand. "You dare?" The privateer fired again, piercing the dark pirate's skull.

"Yeah, I dare." The dark pirate fell to the ground, temporarily dead. The traitor pointed her rifle at Gareth. "You'd better start running." Gareth picked up his pistol and ran back to the Dark Archer. Jinx grabbed her pack that she'd hidden in a nearby crate and ran to her new team. "Come on. Those spark bullets won't keep him down long." Lenora helped Adam and Riley to their feet.

"Run first, talk later?" Adam smiled.

"Yeah." Everyone made their way back to the Golden Archer. The ship departed as quickly as it arrived, just in time for Flint to let loose a burst of chaotic dark energy. Buildings exploded in the distance as the Golden Archer made its escape.

"Get us on course for Port Regal, Mary."

"You've got it, boss." Mary steered the ship toward the blockade.

"You set up a blockade around Skull Island Skyway?"

"We started this together, Lenora," Adam stated, "I wasn't going to end this without you." Lenora pressed her forehead to Adam's.

"I like the sound of that." Their heads separated and the swashbuckler turned to Riley. "I'm so sorry about you dad, Riley." The young musketeer looked up at her.

"How did you-"

"Draco wasn't enough. He and Kristen entered my mind and helped me finish off Phoenix." The swashbuckler embraced Riley. "He should have been here. I'm sorry."

"I think we're all just glad that you're back, Lenora," Riley chuckled. The pair broke their embrace.

"Ok, we need to take care of this now!" Jillian stepped down from the bridge, a dagger in her hands, and charged Lenora. Ryan grabbed Jinx's hand before she could bring the blade down. "What are you doing?!"

* * *

 **A.N.: I am so glad to have finally resolved the Phoenix arc. If you didn't catch it, all of Lenora's return mainly appears in the stages of a Phoenix's life: Burn, ashes, and rebirth. However, her struggle isn't over so watch out for the next update.**


	10. Chapter 9 Failsafe

**A.N.: This is, by far, the biggest update I've done to date. I've been on vacation so I've had plenty of time to write. Get ready for a lot of the feels and some epic action sequences.**

* * *

Ch. 9 Failsafe

"What am _I_ doing?! What are _you_ doing?!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Saving Lenora's life," Jillian retorted. There was silence. "Draco, before everyone freaks out, run a scan of Lenora's body."

"You're kidding me! This is bad." Draco displayed a scan of Lenora's body, zooming in on her heart. A pitch-black orb laid, connected to the vital organ.

"What is that," Archangel asked.

"That is Flint's failsafe against Lenora's escape. It's a dark energy regulator. It's meant to control the amount of dark energy that flows through a generator, but he's connected it to her heart. If too much dark yum flows through her blood stream, she'll die." Jillian looked toward Jonah Town. "He's out of range right now, but if he gets close enough, Lenora will have escaped for nothing."

"But if you just go and destroy the regulator, any dark yum that's still in her will go out of control," Blaze chastised, "We need to make sure the energy remains stable when its broken." Jinx turned to Lenora.

"Fine; we can do that, but, either way, we have to do this now." Mary walked down from the wheel.

"Then let me do it," the witchdoctor requested, "I've worked as a nurse and know the safest way to reach the heart." She took the dagger from Jillian and moved everyone out of the way except for Blaze and Adam. "Blaze, you'll have to keep the dark energy under control when I break the regulator." She and Adam lowered Lenora to the ground, lying on her back. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you," Mary apologized.

"From the way it looks, you're about to save my life, so we'll call it square," Lenora stated. She held Adam's hand in preparation for the pain. Mary's face hardened, preparing for the operation she was about to perform.

"Draco, keep a live feed of Lenora's body up until we're done," Mary ordered. The personality matrix shimmered and a stream of data appeared over Lenora's body. The regulator was starting to pulsate faster. "This is going to hurt." The witchdoctor slowly plunged the dagger into Lenora's side, making its way to her heart. Lenora screamed as the cold metal pierced her body. The swashbuckler gripped Adam's flesh hand tighter. She looked up at the image Draco was projecting. "Just a little farther. Get ready, Blaze." The privateer held his hand over Lenora's heart, keeping the dark energy inside her in its current shape. Mary moved the blade another inch and penetrated the orb. A howl of pain resounded around the deck of the ship as the dark energy attempted to escape into Lenora's body. The Golden Archer rocked back and forth as the swashbuckler convulsed on the wooden planks. Letting go of the dagger for a second, Mary held two fingers to Lenora's free hand, checking her pulse. "Her heart beat is speeding up. Blaze, release a small portion of the dark energy into her blood stream."

"What?!"

"Her body is vulnerable right now. She's been relying on dark energy for so long that her body needs it to survive." The witchdoctor withdrew the knife. "Only leave a little. Everything else can go." Blaze did as instructed. He willed some of the dark energy to move slowly into Lenora's bloodstream, but slowly transferred the rest out of the wound in Lenora's side. The dark energy floated in the air above Lenora. Mary took out a flask and captured it. Blaze released his control over the substance. Adam began bandaging Lenora's wound. Exhausted from the day's events, Lenora passed out.

"Get us to the blockade, now!" Adam stayed by Lenora's side. Jillian took the wheel and turned the ship toward Tradewinds Skyway. Mary and Adam lifted Lenora by her arms and legs and carried her into Adam's cabin. The pair laid her down on Adam's bed, her left arm slightly dangling from the edge. The musketeer pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. "Thank you, Mary."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do." Mary left the cabin. Ryan and Blaze were readying the upper cannons just in case Flint got too close. "How close to the blockade are we?"

"A few minutes out," Able stated. Dark clouds started to form above the Golden Archer. Lightning struck the deck, sending the crew scrambling for cover.

"You don't have a few minutes." Hannah Winchester stood where the lightning had struck. "I'm here for Flint's property." The raven master drew her staff. "I can restore Phoenix and I will bring her back." Mary stood between her sister and Adam's cabin. The witchdoctor drew her serpent staff.

"It's over, Hannah. Lenora is back where she belongs so just leave her be." The raven-haired witchdoctor slammed her staff into the ground. A blast of dark energy swept across the deck of the ship. Mary slammed her own staff down, creating a shield around her and the rest of the crew. Ryan teleported above the opposing witchdoctor and divebombed toward her.

"You killed Autumn. My wife!" The assassin stabbed his gauntlet blades into her shoulders. Hannah transformed into a raven, escaping Ryan's blades. "Get back here!" Ryan slashed at the bird, but Hannah simply flapped away. She flew off into the distance, toward Skull Island.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Mary shoved Ryan, almost knocking him to the ground.

"I have my own score to settle with your sis-"

"I don't care. She's not your problem anymore," the serpent master stated, "She's mine." Mary took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I know the kind of pain she caused you, but she's _my_ sister and _my_ responsibility. I'm the only one who can end it." Several ships went by as the Golden Archer passed through the blockade. Ryan went to the stern side of the ship and saw the Dark Archer turn around.

"We're through the blockade. Jillian, get us to Port Regal."


	11. Chapter 10 By your Side

Ch. 10 By Your Side

 _"It's over, Flint!" Lenora dug her claws into Flint's stomach, black blood flooding from the holes in his body. The swashbuckler ignited her claws, cauterizing the wounds. "You're going to spend the rest of your life in a cell. However long that may be." Flint laughed._

 _"But who will save the Spiral from you?" The dark pirate pushed a button on his wrist and Lenora dropped to her knees. Her veins blackened as dark energy coursed through her body._

 _"No." Black fire formed at her fingertips. "No!" A burst of dark flames exploded from her body, engulfing the world. "NO!"_

* * *

"NO!" Lenora's eyes opened as she shot up in her bed. She looked around and noticed that she was in a hospital ward. There was a table by her bed. On it was a vase with flowers. _Looks like they were just delivered._ It was then that she noticed an unnatural weight on her legs. She looked towards her feet and saw a slumbering Adam lying on her. His chest rose and fell as he breathed in his sleep. Lenora rubbed her eyes to make sure she was definitely awake. When nothing changed, she smiled. _It was just a dream._ Lenora reached down to ruffle Adam's short, brown hair. "You saved me. Again." A lock of hair moved in front of Lenora's face. She pushed it out of the way as Mary and Jordan entered her room.

"I'm just saying, there's nothing wrong with dating someone from another species. I'm with Bonnie and Blaze is with Gracie. No one would judge you. Besides," Jordan chuckled, "The feel of fur on your bare skin can make the coldest nights hot, if ya know what I mean." The buccaneer lightly nudged Mary in her ribs with her elbow.

"Look, Jordan, as … appealing as that sounds, I'm just not interested in seeing anyone right n- Oh, Lenora, you're finally up!" The swashbuckler gave a small wave before raising her finger to her lips. The witchdoctor and buccaneer looked down and saw that Adam was still sleeping. Mary pulled up a chair and sat by Lenora while Jordan leaned on the bar at the foot of the bed. "He really looks peaceful when he sleeps, doesn't he?"

"Uh huh." Lenora continued to brush Adam's hair. "Thank you, Mary. You saved my life; you _and_ Adam." Mary held Lenora's free hand with her own.

"I just wish I could have done more. We couldn't get all of the dark energy out of your body without harming you. Your body has become addicted to it. I don't think you'll need any more to flow through your system, but what's left will have to remain, even if you can't use its power."

"I'm aware of the circumstances, Mary," the swashbuckler consoled, "I don't like having darkness in me, but I'll gladly take the burden if it means more time with Adam."

"I think I'll leave you two alone," Jordan announced, "Maybe see if Bonnie needs help taking inventory of our weapons and ammo." With that, Jordan left, leaving the witchdoctor, swashbuckler, and sleeping musketeer alone. Mary looked down at Adam.

"I think this is the first time he's slept since we lost you."

"Don't take any offense when I ask you this, but, when I was gone, did you two … you know?" Mary let go of Lenora's hand.

"No. I'd never do that. He's your boyfriend. He never approached me and I never approached him."

"I wouldn't have been mad if you did. He probably could have used the comfort."

"No," Mary insisted, "It wouldn't have been my place. Besides, he loves you too much to cheat on you. Even if only for a moment of comfort. And I would have wanted it to mean something." Adam stirred, lifting his head from Lenora's legs. He stretched his upper body and let out a yawn.

"Hey, Lenora. Hey, Mary. What's up?" Mary got up from her chair.

"We were just catching up, but I think you two need some time to catch up yourselves." Mary left the room. Adam moved up onto the bed and laid down next to Lenora.

"I'm so glad that you're back, girl on fire." He pressed his forehead to hers.

"I'm glad to be back, Golden Archer." Lenora kissed Adam once before beginning her questioning. "So, how many of our own did I kill?" Adam remained silent. "You're going to have to tell me eventually, Adam. You might as well get it out of the way."

"Twenty," Adam sighed.

"Come on, don't sugar coat it; how many did I actually kill?" Adam's answer didn't change.

"Twenty." The musketeer activated Sagittarius. "Sagittarius, start a memory playback. July 8th." Sagittarius shifted to show the shores of Scrimshaw. "We'd just taken Scrimshaw. After the battle was over, I saw a ship leave the docks. It was a black ship with black sails. I called the nearest pirates to me and we boarded the ship. I was already wearing Able when we boarded. Then, I saw you. You were pale, _so pale_ , with your veins blackened. There was nothing but hate in your eyes when you saw me. I knew it wasn't you, but I still couldn't bring myself to lay a finger on you. Then you unleashed a chaotic stream of black fire. Everyone on the ship burned to a crisp except me and Able. I teleported us away." Adam waved Sagittarius away, his golden image shimmering away. "After that, I made sure that there was a permanent watch for your ship. I wasn't going to let you hurt anyone else or let anyone hurt you."

"Even when I was against you, you stood by me," Lenora chuckled.

"I'm always on your side, Lenora. You know that."

"Um, the night before your birthday, you said that there was something I could do that would make that day perfect. What was it?" Adam reached into his pocket at felt the black box that held the ring he'd bought. He palmed it for a second before leaving it in his pocket.

"It can wait. Once this war is over, I'll let you know what it was."

"You'd better." There was a knock at the door and Blaze and Riley walked into Lenora's room.

"Lenora, you're up!" Riley joined Adam and Lenora on the bed, nearly scaring Lenora out of it.

"And here I thought you were trying to be an adult." Lenora grabbed Riley and held her in a tight embrace.

"It's good to see you're finally up," Blaze greeted, "How're you feeling?"

"I can feel the dark energy in my body. Other than that, I feel fine."

"Don't worry, Lenora," Blaze consoled, "If you think Flint can somehow regain control of you, you're wrong. I tampered with the dark energy and golden energy inside of you. Any darkness still in you is blocked off by your own golden energy." Lenora let go of Riley and crawled out of bed.

"Then it's time for us to get back to work. As a team." Blaze smiled.

"Then you'll want these back." Blaze opened the closet by the bed and Lenora saw her classic red pants, overcoat and boots. Someone had added golden trim to the arms of her coat and a dragon's head stitched onto the back.

"How'd you get these back? And who added this stuff to it?"

"We found them at one of Flint's outposts," Adam explained, "And since you've got the Draco personality matrix and golden powers, I figured you'd like the new designs. Ryan is, surprisingly, an excellent tailor." Lenora threw on the overcoat and pulled the pants up her legs, tucking her shirt in. She pulled her boots onto her feet then proceeded to look at herself in the mirror, admiring the new look. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it." Adam and Riley got up from the bed.

"Then it's time to end this."


	12. Chapter 11 History has its Eyes on You

**A.N.: This was probably my favorite chapter to write. Most of Admiral Nelson's lines in this chapter come from the song of the same title in Hamilton: An American Musical. Credit for such an incredible goes to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch. 11 History has its Eyes on You

(Contains a tribute to Hamilton)

"Let's begin," Adam stated. With most of the Spiral council being preoccupied with dark pirates on their own fronts, they were communicating via holo tables. "Jillian was able to steal a data card that contains all of Flint's plans before joining us. Jillian, if you could do the honors." The former dark pirate walked up to the table and inserted the data chip. A layout of Skull Island projected onto the table.

"This is Flint's new Skull Island. Most of the buildings have been torn down and replaced by armaments. Protected bunkers, cannons, dark energy generators, you name it." The map zoomed out from Skull Island and showed the rest of the skyway. "The real problem is his fleet. As soon as a ship gets too close, he sends out every ship at his disposal and attacks. Nothing left, salvage or survivors." The privateer moved the map back over Skull Island, zooming in on the tower. It was massive, made of black obsidian in the shape of a two-pointed trident. "Flint's tower is another story. Surprisingly, very little security. Just thousands of steps between you and the top. He has a giant pool of dark energy and he controls it all from the top floor. It's how he's been able to take control of your troops in every realm."

"But, I thought he could only control those with dark energy inside them," Nelson inquired.

"We all have darkness inside of us, Admiral," Jillian corrected, "It's these select individuals that have the potential to control it. It's why Blaze and Lenora could control it; they both had parents who could manipulate that energy. They had those abilities passed down to them. Somewhere in their lineage, there was a dark energy user and they inherited a fraction of their powers, giving Flint an opening to their minds and bodies. That's why my wife kept me from being exposed to this energy. She knew that once someone got a taste of that power, there was no going back, unless Flint sets you free."

"So, Flint has to let them go?"

"No," Jinx stated, "He craves power too much. The only way these people and all of the Spiral go free is if we kill him and destroy his tower." Adam went through all of the data Jillian had given them one more time.

"You said that he sends all of his ships out when a ship gets too close?" Jillian nodded. "And he decimates them with cannon fire until there's nothing left?" Again, the dark pirate nodded. "I have a plan."

* * *

"Captain Silver!" Admiral Nelson raced after the young musketeer. Adam was already loading supplies onto the Golden Archer. "This plan of yours-"

"Admiral Nelson, as I explained to everyone already, this plan _will_ work. You just have to trust me."

"Trust is not the issue here, Captain Silver," Nelson clarified. "I just wish to impart a story before you leave." Adam let Lenora, Gracie, and Blaze keep loading the ship as he listened to the one-armed dog. "I was younger than you are now when I was given my first command of a ship. We received word of pirates attacking Port Regal so we went to help, but it wasn't just one ship; it was a whole fleet of pirates. We were told to hold our position, but I disobeyed my orders and went to help. I led my men straight into a massacre and witnessed their deaths right before my eyes. Then, the pirates reached me. I was fighting ten at once when an eleventh snuck behind me and severed my arm. It was at that moment that the help that was ordered to arrive finally came and forced the pirates off the island. I passed out and hours later woke up in a hospital ward, bandages over my stump arm. I kept thinking about how I'd be reprimanded for my actions, but a reprimand never came. Despite my strict disregard for orders, I had held off the enemy long enough for help to arrive in-time. History had its eyes on me that day. And today," Nelson put his one hand on Adam's left shoulder, "It's true for someone else. I know that we can win. I know that greatness lies in you, but you need to remember, from here on in, history has its eyes on you."

"Come on, Adam," Blaze called out, "It's time to go!" Adam gave Nelson a quick hug.

"You take care of yourself out there, Captain Silver." The two broke their embrace as Adam ascended the boarding planks to the Golden Archer. He turned back to the admiral.

"Admiral Nelson," the captain called out, "How do you know we can win?" Nelson laughed.

"Because I believe in you."

"Sagittarius, how long till the steak should be finished?" Sagittarius floated over the small pan that lay over the fire in Adam's cabin.

"One: I can't believe to delegated me to steak duty. Two: Just a couple more minutes." Adam moved the steak around in the pan, allowing it to get evenly cooked. He held a pad of papers in his mechanical hand, reading over them one last time. "We still have twelve hours until we put your plan into action."

"Thank you for reminding me of this plan that the Spiral is depending on." Adam flipped through the pages. _This plan will work. It has to._ A knock at his cabin door broke him from his thoughts. "Come in." Lenora entered his cabin.

"How come whenever I come in here, you're always going through papers?" Adam smiled.

"It's what I signed up for when I started a war," he chuckled. He put down the papers on his desk. The musketeer noticed that Lenora was holding a bottle. "What's with the bottle?"

"It's yum. I, uh, thought you might want something to drink." Adam took the bottle. There were already two glasses set out on the table. The steak he'd been cooking was split in two on two separate plates. He poured the contents of the bottle into the glasses and pulled out a chair for Lenora. Beaming with joy, Lenora took her seat, letting Adam push her chair in. Adam took his own seat across from Lenora. "Seems like someone had some romantic ideas to follow up on before we throw ourselves into hell for the good of the Spiral."

"Who? Me? No, I just thought that, with what's at _steak,_ we couldn't let it go to waste." Lenora blinked.

"Did you just make a pun?"

"I did." Adam took a sip from his glass of yum. "Before all of this, I was the king of puns. Then I met Ryan and, well, let's just say he's better at making puns than me." Lenora cut her half of the steak and took a bite.

"I know I should be mad about the whole pun thing, but this steak is delicious." The couple finished their meal. Lenora took one last sip of yum before asking, "So, what do you think our odds are of winning this?"

"With you here, our chances are much better." Lenora blushed.

"I see that you're really laying on the compliments, Mr. Silver. Got something in mind now that we've finished our meal?" Adam grinned. He got up from his seat and made his way over to Lenora. "Maybe a way to pass the time?" Adam rested his hands on Lenora's shoulders, the cold metal scaring the swashbuckler for a second. He leaned closer to Lenora's left ear.

"I may have a few ideas." Lenora leaned her head back and allowed their lips to meet. Adam left a trail of kisses down her neck. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed on the far side of his cabin. The red-haired swashbuckler giggled as Adam threw her onto the bed.

"I think I may know what your ideas are, Mr. Silver." Adam crawled onto the bed until he was right on top of Lenora.

"You may want Draco to go into privacy mode." Lenora turned on privacy mode. Adam pulled off his shirt. Lenora ran her fingers along his finely toned abdominal muscles. "See something you like?"

"I think what I like is still hidden," Lenora chuckled as she removed her shirt. Adam brought their lips together, their tongues fighting for dominance in each other's mouths. Lenora broke off the kiss, saying, "I love you, Adam."

"I love you, Lenora."

* * *

 _"I will always watch over you my son."_

 _"I'm sorry, brother."_

 _"Death isn't an end once and for all; it's just a new beginning."_

 _"Don't give up."_

 _"No apologies; did what was right. I don't fear death and I don't fear you."_

 _"I'll see you in hell."_

 _"I won't let Flint control me anymore. You don't need to see this."_

 _"You didn't know anything about what I was doing. I couldn't let him hurt you. I have to leave before he comes back. I won't make you leave, but I think you should."_

 _"Take care of her. Keep her safe for me. I'll miss you."_

* * *

Adam's eyes shot open. He looked to his right to see Lenora, her arms wrapped around him. The musketeer sat up, leaning on his elbows. Lenora woke up as her arms fell from Adam's body.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just … I guess worried is the best term."

"Hey, just remember, we're not alone in this fight anymore. You did that."

" _We_ did that," Adam corrected. He leaned down and kissed Lenora on her nose. "It's almost time to get ready." Adam got up from the bed. Lenora covered herself with the blanket. "You know, I wish we could do last night all over again. And again. And again." Lenora laughed. "So what do _you_ think our chances are of winning this?"

"Should have known I'd be asked that question," the red-head sighed, "There's gonna be casualties and there's no guarantees we're getting out of this alive." Adam sat down next to her.

"Don't think like that. Every fight we've been in could have been our last; every bullet we've dodged could have been the one."

"There have been a lot of bullets."

"And this time around," Adam chuckled, "They're just a little bigger." Lenora let out a dry chuckle. Adam got back up, continuing to get dressed.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." Adam tossed Lenora's shirt to her. She quickly pulled it over her torso and got up from the bed. She wrapped her arms around Adam. "No matter what happens today, I won't let you lose me again." Adam took her hand in his own and kissed it.

"I believe that."


	13. Chapter 12 The Fleets Arrive

Ch. 12 The Fleets Arrive

"So, what do you think of your brother's plan?" Gracie was loading spark bullets into the pistols onboard the ship.

"It's a good plan," Blaze stated, curtly.

"Really? No opinions on the plan whatsoever?" Blaze put down the sword he was sharpening.

"I'm just thinking about what Tauros said." Blaze sat back down next to his girlfriend. "He said that I don't have the courage to put on the Kane armor again and, if I did, I'd just become the monster I was before." Gracie leaned her head on Blaze's shoulder.

"Don't let him get to you. He only said that because he knows that when you do put it on again, you'll be stronger than Flint." The dog rubbed her snout against Blaze's nose. "When we pull this off, Kane will be known as the savior of the Spiral; not its conqueror." Blaze got up from his chair and moved to Gracie's golem.

"You're probably the only person who actually believes that." An alarm went off on Blaze's arm. "It's time."

* * *

"Are you two ready," Adam asked in his communicator.

"You bet, brother," Blaze replied.

"Whenever you are," Lenora responded. Adam looked at their ships.

 _Three ships going up against an entire fleet. What could go wrong?_ The musketeer left the wheel of the Golden Archer, making his way to the bow. "Keep us on course, Gracie." Adam could see dozens of ships sailing toward them in the distance. "Okay, guys. Hard to starboard, now!" Immediately, Blaze and Lenora's ships turned, cannons ready. "Open fire." The two frigates began firing. Adam studied the ships that were approaching. The Dark Archer was leading the fleet. All but the Dark Archer turned, revealing their own cannons and gunners. Adam drew his dragon staff and slammed it into the ground. "Whatever you do, keep firing!" As enemy cannonballs drew closer to the ships, they were reflected back at the enemy.

"We're starting to run out of ammo, Adam," Lenora reported.

"Fire whatever you can. Crushed glass, some forks and knives, a crystal ball, if you have one." Adam could feel the reflection spell starting to drain his energy. "And make it fast, I can't keep up this spell much longer." As more cannonballs bounced off of the energy shield, Adam could see cracks forming in the barrier.

"I'm out!" Blaze got up to the deck of his ship. "Heading over to the Golden Archer." Blaze teleported to the ship's wheel. "Well, everything's going according to plan." Gracie kept the wheel steady.

"So far." A cannon ball flew by her head. "Just wish the reflection spell covered the _whole_ ship."

"That's it. I've got nothing else to shoot." Lenora teleported onto the Golden Archer. Flint's fleet split up and surrounded the two unarmed ships. Immediately, they opened fire, tearing the ships to shreds. Planks of wood and fabric from the masts rained down onto the deck of the Golden Archer. Adam fell on one knee, exhausted from the spell casting. Lenora teleported to Adam and brought him up to the bridge. "Don't worry; I've got you." Adam leaned on the railing.

"It's working." The Dark Archer came to a halt in front of the Golden Archer.

"Even for you, this was pathetic," Gareth's voice boomed, "Did you really expect to win with three ships?" Adam could see the dark witchdoctor standing on the bridge of his own ship. "I expected more from the _great_ Merciless Adam Silver!" Adam stood up straight. "Tell me, how many of your own people did you just sacrifice for this poor attack?"

"None," Adam shouted back. Silence filled the air around the ships.

"It takes more than one person to crew a ship, Mr. Silver." Adam activated Sagittarius.

"Sagittarius, could you project a recap of the destruction of those ships?" The personality matrix expanded between the two ships. Gareth could see the ships being blown apart. He saw wood, fabric, and bits of metal, but no flesh or blood. No bodies had been cast into the abyss of the Spiral core.

"How is that possible?"

"Tell me something, Gareth. Don't you think it's odd that there's only four of us here right now?" Lenora stood shoulder to shoulder with Adam.

"You completely destroyed two of our three ships," Blaze stated, "But, if we were smart, wouldn't we send more than three ships against an entire fleet?"

"Everyone," Adam spoke into his communicator, "It's time!" Gareth leaned on the edge of his own ship's bridge.

"Time for what?!"

* * *

"They've taken the bait," Ratbeard called out. "All hands, to your battle stations! Ready your cannons; we're entering a hot situation." The rat admiral walked beside Admiral Nelson, boarding the Dauntless.

"Admiral," Riley shouted, "I'm ready to go." The dog admiral smiled.

"Same determination as your father," he chuckled, "If you're doing what I think you're doing, you'd better start charging up your energy. Bow of my ship, now." Riley rushed up the boarding planks.

"Ratbeard," Morgan reported, "All cannons are loaded. How long until we leave?"

"Depends on how long 'til our teleporters are ready to leave." Pedro and Ryan appeared right beside Ratbeard.

"Just give the word and we'll have us at Skull Island in no time." Everyone's communicators activated, Adam's voice pouring into their ears.

"Everyone, it's time." Ryan and Pedro split up, each boarding a ship. The assassins' purple aura shimmered around their bodies, enveloping the ships they'd boarded. They reached their peak levels as they prepared for the biggest jumps of their lives.

"Now," Ratbeard and Admiral Nelson ordered. The ships vanished.

* * *

"For the fleets to arrive." Behind the Golden Archer, ships from every realm, of every size, began to warp into the skyway around Skull Island.

"Open fire," Gareth frantically ordered, "All cannons, open fire!"

"We're out of ammo, captain," a dark pirate reported. The witchdoctor gritted his teeth. More ships were warping into the skyway, cannons forward.

"We're leaving. Flint can fight this war on his own terms."

"So, we're just to abandon him, sir? Are we to just run like-" A spark bullet to the head shut up the loyal dark pirate. Gareth blew the smoke away from the barrel of the pistol.

"Anyone _else_ have something to say?" No one answered. "Then, let's leave while we still can."

* * *

"The Archer is running away," Riley shouted, her electricity still charging.

"Let them run; the real fight is right here," Bonnie ordered. Riley nodded and let loose her stored energy. Two giant balls of electricity jumped from ship to ship, electrocuting their crews. The young musketeer shook off the extra sparks that remained on her finger tips. Adam raised his sword and brought it down, signaling the fleets to attack.

"All ships, open fire!" The sound of cannon fire filled the air as Flint's fleet began to fall apart. With no ammo, the ships tried to flee.

"Not so fast." Peyton exerted her gravity powers on half of the ships, removing their ability to move. Bonnie joined her, bringing their anchors down with her magnetism powers.

"Admiral Nelson, you're in charge now," Adam shouted, "Think you can handle things out here?"

"Most certainly, Captain Silver," the dog replied. "All landing ships, make way to Skull Island!" Adam's crew jumped across ships to reach the Golden Archer. As the last of his crew jumped onto the deck of the ship, Adam released the sails, sending them forward to Skull Island's docks.

 _"Skull Island,"_ Adam whispered, _"We're coming home."_


	14. Chapter 13 The End Begins

Ch. 13 The End Begins

"Come on, those assholes from Skull Island will be here any second!" The dark privateer shouted to his comrades. "There's one more supply ship coming in. Get it unloaded and get back to your posts." A ship docked and he quickly climbed up the steps.

"Sorry, pal," Adam chuckled, "No supplies for you here." He fired his pistol and the privateer fell to the ground, dead. "Come on!" Archangel carried Riley with her legs, the musketeer taking shots where she could. Ryan and Pedro teleported onto the far steps of the docks and took out the musketeers that were targeting the clockwork.

"Ratbeard, you're up first." The one-legged rat ran ahead of the group and kicked open the reinforced entrance to what used to be Skull Island's commercial district. All that was left was trenches and bunkers.

 _Just like Jinx said._ The rat's red aura appeared around him and he sent out a shockwave throughout the battlefield. Dark musketeers lined up in the trenches, taking shots at the invaders. The shockwaves Ratbeard had sent out knocked them into the air, separating them from their weapons. Peyton threw a gravity bomb, keeping the gunmen in the air. Bonnie and Jillian aimed their rifles and fired. Several dead bodies fell to the ground. "Advance!" The combined forces of the Spiral charged the island. Redcoats, clockworks, gladiators, cowboys, samurai, monquistadors, unicorns, crabs, guinea pigs, sharks, kurghans, and pirates together flooded the shores of the pirate haven. Adam's crew watched as the soldiers ran past them. Centurions set up their shields, protecting the clockwork musketeers behind them. "Alrigh', where do ya want us, cap'n?"

"Ratbeard, take Jordan, Sirena, and Bonnie up to the front line. Morgan, you and Riley are on sniping duty. Oh, and take Peyton and Wing to watch your backs. Archangel, Pedro, and Ryan, do what you do best. The rest of you are with me." An explosion sent clockwork parts flying everywhere.

"Captain Silver," a clockwork dragoon shouted out, "We've got damaged clockworks over here!" The pure white armor was familiar.

"Cannon Fodder, it's great to see you." Adam turned to the rest of his crew. "Okay, Gracie, you and Blaze are on repair duty until we make the final push to Flint's tower." The two privateers made their way to a group of damaged clockworks, taking out their tool kits.

"You… you created us."

"Shh… that's right," Blaze stated, "I created you."

"When? When will this chaos end?" Blaze reconnected the mechanical being's circuits and pushed it's arm back into place.

"If we're lucky, today." The marine got back up and picked up its shield and axe.

"Then, I'll fight to make that possible." The marine jumped in front of a swashbuckler just in time to block a cannonball. "For the glory of the Armada!" Blaze got to work on the next clockwork.

"You have your orders. Get to work, guys." Adam's crew dispersed, leaving the musketeer alone with Lenora, Mary, and Able.

"I never expected to see Skull Island like this," Able commented, "I'd rather see it in its glory."

"The view is much nicer without that giant tower in Avery's court," Lenora chuckled.

"I bet it is." Able walked forward, studying the various Spiral denizens fighting. "So many different styles of combat, here, together, side by side. This is truly a rare and beautiful sight.

"The last time they united was against the Armada," Mary stated.

"Yeah, but that was ship-to-ship combat. Everyone did their own thing. This time, they have to work together." Adam looked out into the distance. "Looks like we've already pushed through to where Kraken Skull Tavern should be." Adam drew his pistols. "Let's go help them out." The musketeer and his allies charged to the front line.

"Captain Silver," a voice boomed, "It's great to see you." Ducking behind a barricade was Ulysses. The eagle archer looked up and fired a volley of arrows into the air. "Incoming!" A line of clockworks raised their shields, covering their allies from the attack from above.

"Ulysses?!" Adam joined the archer behind cover. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"It doesn't matter how it ends, but the war _will_ end on Skull Island. It will be known that Aquila's highest house was present when Skull Island was liberated." The archer strung another arrow and shot it into a dark witchdoctor's heart. "And the only reason I'm here is because you brought me home." Adam peeked out of cover and shot two swashbucklers in their shoulders.

"Then we'll make the end memorable. A story you can tell your people for generations." Adam and his group entered what remained of the Kraken Skull Tavern. Crushed glass was scattered over the floor. Blood stained the walls.

"About time you guys showed up," Ryan chuckled, "Go ahead and take a breather." Blaze and Gracie were putting a destroyed clockwork back together. Sirena was getting nasty gash on her shoulder treated by Jordan.

"Oh, my god. Mom, are you alright?" Lenora rushed to her mother, concern in her eyes.

"Privateer got the jump on me." Jordan tightened the bandage around the wound. "Argh. Don't worry; you know that I've had worse." The red-haired swashbuckler ran her hand along the scars on her mother's arm.

"How many of these are because of me?" The privateer pulled her arm away from her daughter.

"Don't talk like that. Even if you had caused some of these, it wasn't you. Phoenix was an evil bitch that got what she deserved."

* * *

"Ryan, so, I guess this is-"

"Just like old times?" Ryan sharpened the blades on his gauntlets. Adam laughed, but quickly stifled it.

"Huh. Might be the last chance we get to say that." Ryan got up from his seat.

"Do you think we're gonna lose?'"

"Hell, no. I think we're going to kick Flint back into whatever hole in hell he crawled out of." Adam loaded two fresh clips into his pistols. "But I wonder what it'll take to rid him from the world."

"You'll find a way. You always do." Ryan walked to the window. "After this war, this place will need some refurbishing."

"You planning on giving up the assassin life?"

"Hell, no," Ryan chuckled, "Just saying everyone will have a job to do when all of this is done. I've drifted around for so long, maybe I should find a place to actually call home." Ryan turned back to Adam. "You gave me a new family to stand by, Adam. I'm going to help you see this fight through." Bonnie Anne burst through the doors of the tavern.

"We've got a big problem."


	15. Chapter 14 No Man's Land

**A.N.: I promised a friend that I'd upload this chapter as soon as it was done and I'm making good on that promise. I finally get to give Adam an epic speech to say to his crew. Enjoy!**

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Ch. 14 No Man's Land

"Okay, so what's the problem." Adam, Lenora, Blaze, Gracie, and Jordan followed the fox through the war-torn streets to the front lines. The line had extended past the bazaar, leaving an open space between them and the stairs to Avery's Court.

"Those." Bonnie pointed to a line of cannons that lay above the archway to Avery's Court. "Those cannons are powered by dark energy generators." The sound of a cannon going off drew Adam's attention. A buccaneer was rushing across the open space before being hit by a cannonball. On contact, the pirate's body disintegrated.

"My God." Jordan looked out at the open space. "So, then, all of this is?"

"No man's land," Riley finished. "My dad used to tell me about it. A large stretch of land. No one can cross it from either side. Each group had enough fire power to keep the other at bay for months on end."

"I tried warping behind the cannons," Pedro reported, "Something is blocking our powers." Adam looked out at the stretch of land once more.

" _Our_ powers may be blocked," Adam stated, "But dark energy powers may be fine." The musketeer turned to his brother. "Blaze, do you think you could create a dark energy dome around our forces?"

"You want me to protect thousands of soldiers?" Blaze waved his hands. "No. I can probably shield about a dozen, but an entire army? That's impossible." Adam took a step up the steps to no man's land and looked around at his crew.

"A dozen is all we need." Adam stepped back down. "I didn't ask for this. Any of this. I always wanted to continue to plunder, pillage, be a general nuisance to any government's backside. A war? I never planned on that. Fighting to protect everyone's freedom." Adam drew one of his pistols. "But I finally get it. Today, we're not just fighting to get our home back. Every realm of the Spiral is united because it's not just our freedom that's at stake. Today, we fight as a united Spiral. We fight for every mother, every father, every son, every daughter, every unborn child. Today, we fight for everyone we've lost. Because every death that has occurred has been because of one man's desire for uncontrolled chaos." Adam pointed his pistol toward no man's land. "Flint is just across that open space. We get there and we can end this. We get to have a tomorrow. So, who's with me?" Silence fell over his crew.

"You don't even need to ask," Bonnie responded.

"We're with you until the end, Cap'n," Ratbeard stated. Everyone stepped forward in resolve. Adam nodded.

"Then, let's go."

* * *

"Shield up!" Blaze held his hands out, willing a bubble of dark energy to form around them.

"You okay?" Gracie stood by him for support.

"It hurts, but I can take it." Blaze started moving forward. "Remember, stay in the bubble!" The crew moved with the bubble. A spark bullet whizzed by Blaze's head. "And be careful. I can only block dark energy ammunition." Adam had a spark thrower in his hands. Hearing the sound of an approaching spark bullet, Adam shot his rifle toward the projectile, catching it midflight.

"Lenora, on your right!" The swashbuckler looked to her right and stabbed a dark privateer through her throat with her claws. "Don't worry, guys. We're almost there." Adam shot a dark buccaneer that had entered the shield. "Just a little further." Wing used his energy whips to grab a dark musketeer's rifle and threw it to Riley, who proceeded to shoot the musketeer in the leg. A cannonball bounced off the shield and hit the fallen adversary, obliterating him. Pedro reached out with his axe and let a dark pirate grab hold before pulling it back in, letting Ryan stab them with his gauntlets.

"We're at the end, Blaze," Gracie told the fellow privateer. As they entered cover below the archway, Blaze let the shield disperse.

"Now," Mary drew her grapple gun, "We do this the old-fashioned way." The witchdoctor shot her hook at the top of the archway and grabbed hold of Jordan. The two began to climb up the side of the wall. Ryan scaled the bricks. Adam aimed his rifle at the wall, picking off musketeers as they shot down at the climbers. Mary climbed up over the ledge and pulled Jordan up. "Time to do what you do best."

"Break things." Jordan drew her scythe and smashed its blade into the dark energy generator. As the generator powered down, Jordan could feel her powers return. She turned her arms to ice and picked up two of the cannons. The buccaneer tossed the heavy armaments over the edge, watching the dark energy explode on contact with the ground. Ryan reached the top and warped his sword into a dark swashbuckler's chest. He pulled out the blade and kicked another cannon off the archway. Jordan unleashed an icy blast on the remaining cannons. Ryan activated his gauntlets and watched the cannons shatter before his eyes.

"Great job guys!" A spark bullet whizzed by Adam's head, hitting the wall behind him. A line of musketeers stood ahead of them. Ready to fire, the dark pirates aimed their rifles again. A volley of spark bullets penetrated the riflemen's skulls.

"We're your huckleberries." Duck Holliday blew the smoke away from his sparkthrower. Adam stared at his old companion and saw that the rest of the magnificent seven were behind him. "Cool Ranch is with you, captain. We'd have helped earlier if we weren't bound by the law."

"You guys always were the best shots in the Spiral," Adam chuckled. Hearing footsteps rushing to the stairs, Adam aimed his rifle behind him and fired, not even looking at his targets as he shot them down. "I just learned from you." Adam and his crew fought their way to the top of the steps and saw Avery's Court. His father's old office had been completely destroyed, replaced by Flint's tower. "That son of a bitch is going to pay!" There were several purple crystals on the side of the tower. The crystals turned toward the steps and began to glow. A black beam of energy ran along the ground, decimating the plant life that remained in the court.

"Adam," Blaze suggested, "We've got to move, now!" Adam tossed his rifle to Riley.

"Alright, Able, Blaze, Gracie, Mary, and Lenora, we're heading to the tower. The rest of you scatter and start tearing Flint's army apart!" Adam and his group ran ahead, dodging the energy beams. The musketeer pulled Lenora out of the way of a beam. Blaze set up a small shield in front of himself, pushing through another beam. Mary transformed into her snake form and quickly slithered in between blasts of dark energy. Another blast of energy knocked Able off of his feet, but he quickly recovered and continued up the steps of Avery's Court.

"Aaahh!" Adam and Blaze looked back and saw smoke sizzling from Gracie's left leg. A beam had nicked her and sliced the bone in half.

"No! Gracie!" Blaze doubled back and took Gracie in his arms. The privateers reached a safe area under the railing near the steps to the upper level of the court. Lenora and Adam teleported to them. "Shit, shit, shit! It's okay, you're gonna be fine."

"It hurts, so bad," Gracie tried to cover the wound with her hand, but it stung too bad to touch. Gracie looked around the battlefield. The beams were staying well away from the others. Able and Mary weren't being targeted. "It wasn't trying to hit me. It's after you three."

"Our golden energy," Lenora gasped. Lenora looked at the tower. The crystals were trained on them, waiting for them to move. "I have an idea."

"What is it," Blaze asked.

"Out of the three of us, I'm the fastest. I'll draw the tower's attention and get Gracie to safety while you make a break for the tower. Besides that, someone needs to keep coordinating things down here."

"No," Gracie spat, "You need me. Blaze's device isn't done just yet. I need to help him finish it."

"I finished it last week," Blaze admitted.

"What?"

"I finished it last week. I just wanted more time with you," Blaze placed his golden arm on the dog's face, "I need to know that you're going to be safe, okay? Promise me that you'll be safe." A tear ran down Gracie's face. "Please, I need to know that you're getting out of this alive."

"I … I promise."

"This is crazy," Adam stated.

"I learned from you." Lenora walked over to Adam.

"We were supposed to finish this together."

"Luck has never been on our side," Lenora chuckled. The red-head looked out at the battlefield. "No matter what happens here today, know that I love you."

"Lenora," Adam rubbed her hair, "I love you, too." Adam reached for his belt and took off one of his signature pistols. "Here." He tossed it to his girlfriend, who quickly caught it in her hands before putting it on her own belt. "You'll need it. Be safe out there." The swashbuckler lifted Gracie into her arms. She took a couple steps out of cover, letting the beams target her.

"Go!" Lenora began to run as the beams followed her and Gracie across Avery's Court. The swashbuckler ducked as a beam passed over her head.

"Come on, Adam. Lenora has her job; it's time for us to do ours." Adam nodded and followed Blaze up the rounded steps to Flint's tower. Able and Mary were already at the entrance, waiting for them.

"What took you so long? Where's Lenora and Gracie," Mary asked.

"Gracie got hit," Blaze explained, "Lenora's getting her to safety and then she'll keep things under control down here." Adam walked past the pirates and the clockwork.

"Let's go. It's time to end this."

* * *

 **A.N.: What is the "device" Gracie and Blaze mentioned? You'll find out.**


	16. Chapter 15 Listen to Me

**A.N.: This is a shorter update, but it'll give you feels. As soon as chapter 17 is finished, three more shall arrive with it. Hope you enjoy.**

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Ch. 15 Listen to Me

"Sagittarius," Blaze asked, "What level is Flint on?" Sagittarius pulled up a display of the tower Jinx had given them.

"Looks like his room is all the way up." Adam and Able checked the steps to the next floor.

"The stairs look clear." Mary and Blaze followed the musketeer and clockwork. The first climb was easy. Nothing followed them and nothing stood in their way. The second level was the same.

"This'll be easier than I thought," Blaze commented. As they entered the third level, Blaze began rushing to the next set of stairs. Mary held out her arm to stop him.

"We're not alone in here." Mary slowly drew her staff, it's green serpent eyes lightly glowing. "Luminous Maxim!" As the bottom of her staff connected with the ground a bright light filled the room. Able looked up and saw several shadowy figures hanging from the ceiling in a circle. A raven rested on a perch in the center of them all. "I thought so. Sagittarius, pull up your map. I think you'll see that we haven't risen a single floor." Sagittarius flickered to life, his golden glow illuminating the room.

"She's right."

"You've gotten better at illusion spells, dear sister." The raven descended from her perch, transforming in to the blue-clad witchdoctor. Half of Hannah's blonde hair, on the left side of her head, had been shaved away. The hair that remained was frayed with streaks of black. "My god, what has become of you?" Hannah did nothing but laugh.

"Why don't you ask the filthy musketeer beside you." Hannah pointed to Adam. "After all, it's his fault we're like this."

"Really?!" Mary tossed her staff at her sister. "You're still blaming him for our own mistakes?!"

"He left us to die!"

"He tried to help us escape," the serpent master retorted. Hannah tapped her staff on the ground twice. The spirits descended, surrounding the pirates and clockwork. Mary put a glove on her right hand. She raised her hand up, directing it toward her staff. Hannah's eye twitched as she heard the sound of metal scraping against wood. She drew her own sword and blocked the strike from Mary's sword as it flew by her, metal scraping against metal. The blade returned to green witchdoctor's grasp. She spun the blade in an infinity pattern before letting it rest out on her right side.

"You're really challenging _me_ to a _duel_?" Hannah pointed her sword toward her sister. "Look what you've become, sister: Another rat scrambling across the ground. Fighting a cause that is beyond your control."

"Look what I've risen above," Mary retorted. Her sister screamed and charged toward her. The green witchdoctor raised her sword and blocked a crushing blow. "You've been corrupted by blind hate for so long, you've forgotten who you were." Hannah tried to kick Mary's legs out from under her, but the serpent master shifted and transfigured back behind the raven master. Hannah turned to strike, but was, once again, blocked. "You think you know what I want, but not _once_ did you stop and _listen_ to me!" Hannah grew her wings and rose above her sister.

"I'm your sister; I know what's best for you-"

"But you don't!" The raven dived stabbing down with her sword. Mary rolled back and Hannah's sword got embedded in the ground. "How could you, if you never listened?!" Hannah yanked her sword out of the ground. "You know, I still remember Joanne."

"Never mention that name to me!" Hannah tried slashing at Mary's arms, but her swordsmanship was much improved. The younger sister defended from her attacks each time.

"She was our sister. She decided to go off on her own and _you_ couldn't stand that." Mary flipped over Hannah and made her first attack in the entire fight, managing a long cut along Hannah's left arm. "That's your problem. You can't stand not being in control. You got me to follow you back in El Dorado. When you thought getting Adam back for me would make me happy, you helped Flint take control of Lenora. You attacked my family." Hannah felt weaker all of a sudden, she lazily swung her sword, hitting nothing but air.

"We're family." Mary twisted her blade around Hannah's and sent her sword flying, leaving another scratch on her wrist.

"No, we're sisters. Adam and his crew, they're my family now." Hannah fell to her knees. She reached to touch the gash on her arm, blood, with a slight yellow ting, staining her hand.

"What… what have you done?" Mary picked up her staff and sheathed her sword within it.

"A snake's deadliest tool is venom. You used my own tricks against my family so now I've turned them back against you." The younger witchdoctor picked up Hannah's staff and brought it down hard, breaking it over her knee. If only for a moment, there was clarity in Hannah's eyes.

"I've been horrible. I've burned every bridge I've had for control. I'm everything you say I am and then some." The eldest witchdoctor fell into her sister's arms. "This is my hell. I deserve what comes next." Hannah's breathing quickly rose to a faster pace. "Please. I… I don't want to die." Mary put her finger on her sister's mouth.

"Shh. It's okay." Hannah's breathing slowed as her eyes closed. "It's quicker than falling asleep." The spirits that had surrounded the group disappeared as Hannah's eyes completely closed. Adam moved to console Mary when he saw Hannah's chest rise, showing signs of life.

"I thought you said she was-"

"I lied to her," Mary explained, "I had my sword absorb the sleeping concoction I'd made. This particular mixture acts like my poison, but leaves the victim alive." Mary hefted her sister onto her shoulder. "It'll last a good few days. I'm going to get her to a safe place on the docks of Skull Island. When this is over, she'll serve her time and get the help she needs. For now, you three have a job to do." Before she could react, Adam took her in a deep embrace.

"You're my sister. If not by blood, then by whatever ties us together. You came back, even after everything that happened. I'll never forget that." Mary smiled.

"Just remember, I'm not the only family you have to come back to," Mary chuckled. She patted Adam's shoulder with her right arm. "Lenora's going to love that ring, and I'm glad to say that I helped you pick the right one." A swirling white crystal enveloped Mary as she and her sister disappeared. Adam took a deep breath and led his two remaining companions to the stairs.

"Okay, let's try this again." The three began their ascension of Flint's tower.

* * *

 **A.N. I loved putting that Harry Potter reference in there. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.**


	17. Chapter 16 Fight Together

Ch. 16 Fight Together

"Jinx," Ratbeard called, "Look out!" The old rat decapitated a dark buccaneer that had begun charging the privateer.

"Thanks, ya old rat," Jillian chuckled. She threw her sword into the chest of a dark musketeer. She retrieved her sword as she jumped over her opponent and proceeded to sever another's arm. A dark swashbuckler appeared on her right and she defended the attack from his daggers. The privateer disarmed, robbed him of one of his daggers, and stabbed it into his shoulder. His pained reaction gave Jillian all the time she needed to take the other dagger and embed it into his skull. A witchdoctor was setting up to summon spirits on their side when a spark bullet hit them in the neck. "Shit." Jillian activated the communicator in her ear. "There's a sniper on the battlefield. Morgan, Riley, Bonnie, take them out."

* * *

"I've got 'em in my sights," Riley announced, "They're on top of one of the palm trees by the bridge to Skull Mountain." The musketeer jumped to the archway above Avery's Court and laid flat on the stone bricks. She held her breath as she lined up her shot. She pulled the trigger and saw the body fall from the foliage. "Sniper down." A spark bullet whizzed by her face as a musketeer started taking shots at her. Riley's lightning blue aura surrounded her as she stopped all of the spark bullets. "Didn't you hear," she sneered, "I'm Brave's kid." The musketeer's fist closed, sending the spark bullets into the shooter's chest. Riley sat down against the wall to catch her breath.

* * *

"Ah," Gracie screamed. Lenora had gotten them to the Kraken Skulls Tavern without a problem, and had barely gotten ahold of Bonnie before they were pinned down by a squad of dark pirates and clockworks. Bonnie was realigning the bone so Lenora could speed up the healing process.

"You've got to power through the pain, Gracie." The dog's paw gripped Lenora's hand tighter, her breathing speeding up with every passing seconds. With one final push, Gracie could hear the bone scrape past each other. "Okay, it looks like it's lined up."

"Looks like," Gracie inquired.

"I'm barely a battlefield medic, Gracie. You _know_ that." Lenora extended her golden aura, surrounding the wound. The bone solidified back into one piece and the flesh around Gracie's leg began to regrow. "I'll never get used to seeing body parts heal just like that."

"Well, don't get used to it. That took a lot out of me," Lenora panted. The swashbuckler helped Gracie back up to her feet. "You're staying with me. Got that?"

"Whatever you say, girl on fire." A spark bullet whistled by their heads as it passed through the broken window.

"We need to get out of this building," Bonnie growled.

"I may have just the thing for that." Gracie pulled out her wrench and flipped it over. A small red button sat on the bottom of the handle. The dog pushed it and leaned against the wall. Lenora and Bonnie stared out the window. Nothing had happened and dark pirates were still shooting at them. "Just give it a second." A loud thud drew Lenora's attention to the docks. Gracie's clockwork golem was making its way up the sandy beach to their position. As it got closer, it started moving faster, charging right toward the cluster of dark pirates. A dark buccaneer saw it coming and threw her axe, severing its head from its body. The golem kept moving, ignoring the loss of its head. It stopped right in front of Flint's soldiers before sitting down on the ground. "Okay, duck!" The three pirates fell to the ground as a massive explosion filled the air. The remaining glass blew out of the window. Bonnie looked out the window, seeing a burning pile of corpses and metal scattered across the sand.

"Great job!" The fox kicked the door down and led the other pirates back to the battle. An arm wrapped itself around her leg. She shook it off and looked down, seeing a dark pirate trying to pull herself up. She turned her rifle into an axe and cut off the pirate's hands. "We have a job to do." Bonnie could make out another dark pirate near the steps to Avery's Court. She drew her sidearm and shot her down without hesitation. The three pirates returned to the main fight and engaged Flint's forces once more.

* * *

"Ryan, I could use a hand!" Jordan swung her scythe through the air, managing to impale three dark pirates with the blade. She extended her weapon and shook them off. Three more dark pirates took their places. Completely surrounded, Jordan stabbed the blade of her scythe into the ground. She turned her legs to ice and, using the neck of her scythe for balance, began to run along the chests of her assailants, sending them flying with each step. Ryan reached Jordan and slashed the throats of her fallen attackers. The swashbuckler shook the blood from his gauntlets and drew his sword. "What took you so long?"

"Got caught up in the fight," Ryan replied. He drew a throwing knife and let it fly into the shoulder of a dark witchdoctor that was coming behind Jordan. "Besides, you were holding your own pretty well." Jordan stabbed her scythe into the witchdoctor.

"I guess so," Jordan huffed. A gust of wind sent three dark swashbucklers flying over the pair. Pedro slowed to a halt in front of the two pirates.

"I don't get it. We easily outnumber them. How are they still coming?" The question perplexed the pirates. The sound of clashing swords drew their attention to two privateers fighting each other. The dark privateer gained the upper hand and slashed the pirate's stomach open. She fell to the ground, dead. A loud humming sound rang from the tower. Ryan looked up just in time to see a pulse of dark energy extend out from the building. As the pulse swept across the battlefield, the fallen dark pirates rose back up and their own fallen allies rose and joined their adversaries.

"He's raising the dead and calling them to his side?!" Jordan swung her scythe, once again cutting down the dark pirates she'd just killed.

"You saw it too." Lenora and Archangel ran up to the three pirates. The battle angel had a broken wing. "Dark pirate threw her sword at us midflight. We just barely managed to land."

"How are we supposed to win this when Flint's turning our own people against us?!" Archangel looked up at Flint's tower.

"Queen takes pawns with ease."

"Huh?"

"This is just a simplified game of chess," Archangel stated, "Flint's army is the pawns, Tauros is his bishop, the tower is his queen, and he's the king."

"You win in chess by taking the king. As long as he's still alive," Lenora finished, "You haven't lost." Archangel nodded.

"The same goes for us. Because right now, our king, bishop, and rook are going after their bishop and king. We are our own pawns with the aid of our powerful queen." Archangel quickly drew her sword and stabbed a dark buccaneer that was charging her from behind.

"That settles it." Lenora turned to Ryan. "Spread the word: No one fights alone. If someone goes down, you help them back up. We fight our enemy together. Pawns are stronger in numbers."

"And what about you, queen," Ryan asked. Lenora drew her sword, enveloping it in golden fire.

"Well, I'm the queen, right?" Lenora shot out a burst of fire into the fray. "A good queen raises some hell for the opponent's pieces." A golden dragon formed behind Lenora as she faced the onslaught of dark pirates. "And that's your job too: Give them hell."


	18. Chapter 17 Logical Explanation

**A.N.: I promised a big update and, boy, is it big! I'd get tissues ready. We'll get another glimpse at Blaze in the Overwatch universe, but enough author rambling. Enjoy the reading!**

* * *

Ch. 17 Logical Explanation

"Just a couple more floors," Sagittarius reported. Adam shot a dark pirate in the leg and kicked him out the window. The musketeer holstered the pistol and formed an energy blade. He cut the locked door open while Blaze and Able held off the dark pirates that were coming up the stairs.

"This is ridiculous," Adam complained, "Is Flint that full of himself that he needs his room to be on the top floor?" Able shot a burst of electricity at a dark pirate, stunning them and letting Blaze slash his throat. The privateer-class clockwork punched a dark musketeer in the gut, sending them back down the stairs, knocking over two dark privateers. With one final cut, Adam kicked in the metal door. The three entered the room and found it filled with an assortment of weapons and body parts. Able found a table and called over Adam to help him move it. After they were done, Adam took a good look around the room.

"What is this place?" Blaze picked up the broken hilt of a sword.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's Flint's trophy room." The privateer set the hilt down and looked at a damaged sniper rifle. "Looks like a replica of Brave's rifle."

"He even has a trophy from me." Blaze saw Adam staring at a glass case. Inside it was an arm and a leg; Adam's arm and leg. "That son of a bitch, treated my body like a prize." Blaze pulled Adam away from the case.

"He's going to pay, but we need to focus."

"Why?" Adam knocked over the case. "Why is he causing all of this death and destruction? I understand killing with purpose, but he seems to be killing for sport. What does he have to gain from all of this?"

"I may have an answer for that question." Able stood at a console in the center of the room. He pushed the play button when Adam and Blaze reached him.

* * *

 _"Sir," Tauros inquired, "If I may ask-"_

 _"You wish to know what my ultimate goal is," Flint finished. The dark pirate turned around to face the personality matrix-possessed armor. "I can understand your curiosity. You've followed me without question up to now." Flint drew his sword, holding it up in the light. "Do you want to know what the biggest lie my brother ever believed was?" Tauros nodded 'no.' Flint set the blade down on a table. "It's that power only comes to those that deserve it. Such a foolish belief." Flint ran his hand along the blade. "When my brother and his future bitch of a wife miraculously received their golden powers before setting out for El Dorado, I decided that I needed to go on my own quest. A quest to find a power that could surpass that of his insipid crew. My journey led me to Darkmoor, the darkest skyway in all of the Spiral. There was a cave in one of the islands. Inside it, I found a being made of pure energy; dark energy." Flint cut his finger on the blade, letting the blood drip on his sword. "He told me that dark and light were two sides of the same coin. Where one exists, so must the other; a balancing act where neither one can gain the advantage. Well," the dark pirate chuckled, "I saw that as a challenge." Flint's wound closed. "I took what power I could, the power that was rightfully mine, and ran. As the first wielder of darkness, I decided that I needed to prove the extent of my powers with one goal: Eternal darkness. I think that a world where balance must remain to exist is pointless. One must be able to exist without the other and what better way to prove that than by creating a world filled with nothing_ but _darkness; my darkness." Flint picked up his sword and sheathed it. "Of course, the only way to create my new world is if this world is destroyed so that mine may rise from its ashes."_

 _"So then, this tower."_

 _"Once I'm strong enough, I'll use the dark energy I've stored and gain control of all the darkness in the Spiral. I'll use that power to destroy everything outside of this tower, erasing this world from existence. With the groundwork for my new world of darkness laid down, I can reshape the Spiral in my own image: an image of pure darkness and chaos." Flint went to the balcony, staring at the dark clouds over Skull Island Skyway. "Of course, I knew that if I couldn't finish my job, I'd need a successor. And who better than my brother's best friend. She never knew it was me, of course. I wore a mask and blindfolded her. It wasn't until Blaze was born that she knew who had raped her. Ironically, the good in her made her care for the child anyway. Such a foolish mistake. Then my brother found out and told me to stay away from her. He fell in love with her and protected her and protected my child. Then I found out about the creation of his personality matrixes. I learned that he'd embodied all of his anger into one: you. I knew that, given the right circumstances, I could have another way to destroy the Spiral. I needed to kill Avery's son. I wanted to send him into a state of turmoil that would unleash his anger on the world. Unfortunately, Alexis caught word about what I was planning and fled into the Troggy jungle with the child. I never meant to kill her, but the rewards from her death were truly sweeter than I could have imagined. My own son almost conquered the Spiral and killed my brother." Flint exited the balcony. "Now, once I kill my son and nephew, nothing will be able to stop me."_

 _"Really, sir?" Flint filled a shot glass with yum and downed it._

 _"Nope," the dark privateer responded, "All of that bullshit I just said now is just that: bullshit. I'm not doing this because of some grand scheme to reshape the world. I'm doing this because I'm bored with this world. Bored of its limitations. But once the Spiral is destroyed, who knows what kind of chaos comes next!" Flint threw his head back in laughter. "Imagine the fun I could have in a world of pure darkness and chaos! And when I become bored of_ that _world, I just start all over again. With power over all darkness, no one could stop me. Ever."_

* * *

"This is all some sick _game_ to him?!" Blaze smashed his metal arm into the console, destroying it. "All of this, because he was bored?!"

"Way back when I started going pirate, I came across this clockwork, named Phule. I could hear the insanity in his voice. He sent clockworks at me and my crew when we were tracking down the pieces of the map to El Dorado. I couldn't understand why he'd resort to such overkill for a small team of pirates." Adam held out his arms for Able to encase him in his body. "Sometimes, there's no logical reason for actions. Some people just want the world to burn at the expense of others. I think that that's true for Flint." Able finished armoring Adam. The musketeer put his arm on Blaze's shoulder. "But that's not true for you. You saw the light at the end of the tunnel and now you're here, helping us. Helping me." Adam walked to the door that led to Flint's floor. "Flint is a menace to the entire Spiral. I can't stop him alone. I need your help. I need Kane's help."

"You know," Blaze chuckled, "You really do know how to give a good pep talk." Blaze held out his hand. "Flint told me that I'm not strong enough to put on the armor. That's not true. I'm scared that I won't be able to take it off again. I'm scared that I'll die. I'm scared that I'll be consumed by what I used to be." Adam took the hand and pulled his brother close. "This all started with us on opposite sides of a war. Now, we're going to end this one together."

"One more push, one last fight." Blaze smiled.

"No," he corrected, "We're going to come out of this. Alive. I'll make sure of that."

"Then let's go," Able spoke into their communication devices. Adam and Blaze moved up the stairs and kicked in the door to Flint's room.

"Well, isn't this one big family reunion." Flint sat behind his desk. "Merciless Adam Silver and Merciful Blaze Silver. My family."


	19. Chapter 18 Family Reunion

Ch. 18 Family Reunion

"I'm so glad you could join us." Flint chuckled, "Now I can kill the two people I hate most in the world." Flint motioned to Tauros' Kane armor. "Show our guests some hospitality."

"With pleasure." Kane's body unsheathed its sword. "I've waited a long time to get revenge for taking away my only corporeal form."

"Sagittarius," Adam shouted, "how are we doing this?" The golden personality matrix quickly studied the battlefield.

"If you and Blaze can find a way to disable Tauros, using the Kane armor against Flint will be easy." Adam drew his sword as the Able mask closed over his face.

"I've already got that covered. Ready for one last fight, brother?" Blaze asked.

"Always." The two brothers charged at the armored personality matrix. Kane's sword defended its wielder from the two blades. Adam slashed at the legs from the left while Blaze slashed at Kane's neck from the right. The armor quickly knocked back Blaze's strike then moved to block Adam's attack.

"Is that all you've got?" Tauros taunted, "The last person who put up a fight is dead. You know, Avery." This angered Blaze.

"Shut up!" The elder Silver brother had fire in his eyes as he charged at his creation. "You have no right to talk about my father that way!" Kane saw the weakness in Blaze's attack and knocked the sword out of his right hand and kicked him to the other end of the room. Blaze struggled to his feet. "Is that all _you've_ got?" Kane charged at his creator. Blaze pulled a small blade with a cord attached to the hilt of the blade. He stabbed it into the armor's arm.

"What are you doing?" Tauros was confused.

"Evening the odds," Blaze commented as he attached a small data chip to the other end of the cord. The pirate pushed a button on the hilt and sent a jolt of electricity through the armor. "Enjoy your new home." He tossed the data chip to Adam as he entered the Kane armor. "If anyone's going to use this armor, it'll be me." Once again, Kane's mask closed around Blaze's face.

"Four on one doesn't really seem fair," Flint stated, "But, then again, you'll still lose. All of your skills will not be enough to defeat me." Flint raised his right hand and his sword floated into his grasp. "Only one of us will be alive when all of this is over."

"You're right." Adam agreed. "Sagittarius, bring Able to his full power." Adam and his personality matrix's golden glow surrounded the metallic armor.

"I've never felt this before," Able's consciousness stated, "It feels good." With the enhanced speed from the clockwork's armor, Adam charged toward Flint. Flint was ready for the attack and moved his sword perpendicularly to block the downward slash from Adam's sword. Adam tried to redeem his failed attack by slashing the sword at Flint's stomach and spinning around to strike with a right hook to his uncle's gut. Though successful, Flint retaliated with a downward slash to the Able armor's shoulder blade.

"I've got this." Blaze and his Kane armor joined the fight by sliding under Flint's legs and performing a spinning kick to take away his balance. "Mind if I cut in?" Blaze slashed upward with his sword at Flint's left shoulder. A tear opened up where the blade had cut skin, but the wound quickly healed. A shadowy black aura surrounded Flint as he expelled a mass of dark lightning from his body. The electricity threw the Silver brothers from their uncle to the door they had entered and disintegrated Blaze's golden arm. When Blaze hit the wall he fell unconscious and the mask of the Kane armor broke off from the rest of the suit. Adam struggled to his feet.

"Able, you have to get out of here." Adam pushed a button on his wrist and the armor opened up. "Take Tauros' data chip and help the others down below; if you stay, you'll go offline."

"No," Able protested, "I'm with you until the end. We must finish this fight." Adam removed himself from the clockwork, the servos in his artificial limbs whirring to life.

"And I'll do that for you," Adam responded, "But someone has to make sure Tauros pays for what he's done. I've got this. Just go!" The clockwork made its way to the stairs and drew its own sword to fight off the dark pirates or enemy clockworks he might meet along the way. "Just you and me, Flint." Adam gripped his sword in his left hand. "There's nowhere to run and you've got no allies left to help you. Just give up."

"I have no reason to give up. After all, you're all that's left. One Silver can survive, and it will be me." Flint held the hilt of his sword with both of his hands and charged at his nephew. Adam was prepared for the attack and slid under Flint and countered with a thrust into his back. Flint deflected the blade and their swords became locked. "Once I've killed you, I'm going to find that beautiful girl of yours. I'm sure she'd love to be my pet again." Adam's eyes widened in anger.

"You're dead." Adam furiously slashed at the dark pirate.

"Adam," Sagittarius tried to warn, "No! Don't!" Flint grinned and sent a shockwave toward the young captain. Adam flew into the wall and passed out.

* * *

 _"Adam," a voice called, "Wake up." Adam opened his eye and saw Skull Island. It was different; the sands were a pale white and its mountains were surrounded by a lush green forest. Adam looked around to find the voice._

 _"Where are you?"_

 _"We're here." Adam turned and saw everyone who had lost their lives because of Flint: Brave, Autumn, Will, Kristen, Catbeard, his mother, Alexis, and his father, Avery. Adam crumbled to his knees._

 _"I'm sorry. I've failed you all."_

 _"No," Brave put his hand on Adam's shoulder, "You haven't. You're still here. You're still fighting."_

 _"You're the reason the Spiral is united against this threat. No one else could have done that," Catbeard chuckled as he popped a fish into his mouth, "Besides, now I've got all the fish I could possibly want."_

 _"We're dead, Adam," Autumn said, "We can never come back and, quite frankly, we don't want to. I'd love to see Ryan again, but he has a chance to have a better life with someone more deserving." Autumn shed a tear._

 _"We are ghosts haunted by our pasts," Kristen explained, "What we've done can be undone by your actions."_

 _"Our deaths mean nothing right now," Will stated, "but if you finish this fight, then our deaths will mean something." Adam turned to his parents._

 _"I'm the reason you're all dead," Adam cried, "Why would you want to help me?"_

 _"No," Alexis sighed, "Flint is the reason we're all dead. Don't blame yourself for our fates. Besides, in death, he can't hurt us anymore." Alexis brushed Adam's cheek. "I didn't want you to become this; a weapon to be used against evil, but I believe that you can stop that monster."_

 _"Son," Avery hugged his son, "You can do this." Avery released him. "And we'll be with you every step of the way."_

 _"How?" Adam asked, "Like you said, you're all dead. How can you be with me?"_

 _"We're not truly dead as long as you're alive," Alexis said, "Because we're right here." Alexis touched her right hand to Adam's heart._

 _"Thank you." Adam hugged everyone one last time before he was awakened by an angered battle cry._

* * *

He opened his eye and rolled to dodge Flint's sword. Adam grabbed his sword and got up.

"Thank the Spiral you're awake," Sagittarius gasped, "I've got a battle plan all ready for you."

"No, Sagittarius," Adam stated, "I've got this." Adam's golden aura surrounded his body. He looked to his left and right and saw the ghosts. "And I'm not alone."

"You should have died when I gave you the chance." Adam shrugged off the comment.

"Death's overrated." Flint charged at Adam, but the golden pirate blocked the attack. He remembered a trick that Catbeard had taught him and pulled his pistol out. He hit Flint from the right and disoriented him. He turned and saw Catbeard's ghost mirror his move and disappear. Adam disengaged and sheathed his sword, drawing his other pistol. Adam teleported behind Flint and kicked out his legs from under him. As with Catbeard, Will mirrored the move and left. He stepped over Flint's body and unloaded his pistols into his shoulder blades, reminiscent of Brave shooting out General Yancy Ford's throat. Brave disappeared. The dark pirate's wounds healed and he started to rise. Before he could get up completely, Adam shot into his chest twice, prompting Kristen to disappear.

"It won't be that easy."

"I was never told it would." Adam let loose two balls of lightning from his hands and traded his pistols for his sword. With Flint stunned, it left him open for an attack. Adam slashed violently at Flint's chest with his sword and Autumn's ghost slowly faded. Adam's sword slowly melted through the thin armor plating worn by Flint. "This is my family's Island." Adam created an energy blade in his left hand while holding his sword with his metallic limb. He sliced off the armor covering Flint's left leg. "We may be blood, but my family," Adam stated while breaking off a two inch wide pillar from the wall, "Is out there fighting to take back our home." He kicked Flint toward the balcony of his tower. Flint struggled to his feet.

"I will give you this," Flint laughed, "You can really put up a fight." Flint wiped off the dust and dried blood from his clothing. "But it's over now, nephew." Flint started building up dark energy.

"You're right. It _is_ over." Adam's golden aura swirled in front of him to form a golden bow. He grabbed the bow and attached the spear to the string, turning it gold. Flint propelled himself with the energy burst and raised his sword into the air for a killing slash. Adam watched as his parents' ghosts helped him pull back the string and let the spear fly. Flint stopped mere inches in front of Adam. He looked down at his chest and saw the end of the spear piercing him through his heart. "That was for my mother. And my father." With those words, Avery and Alexis' ghosts disappeared. Flint crumpled to the ground, pushing the spear out the back of his body. Adam walked back to check on Blaze.

"That's cute." Stunned, Adam turned around and saw Flint laughing on the ground. The wound in his chest started to close as he stood up. "You actually thought you had killed me." Flint brushed off his chest and picked up his sword. "I'll be happy to reunite you with your family. They'll all be dead by the end of the day." Adam drew his sword and charged back to his uncle. Instead of blocking, Flint grabbed Adam by the throat. "Enjoy your last moments, Captain Silver." Flint carried Adam to the balcony. Blaze started to wake up. He saw Flint holding Adam by the neck.

"No," Blaze told himself, "Not like this." The pirate ran to his brother and father.

"Good bye, Adam," Flint chuckled, "It's been a long ride, but this is the end." Flint prepared to toss Adam off the balcony, but he heard footsteps running toward him. Blaze let out a powerful scream and tackled his uncle over the edge. A trail of dark energy followed Flint as he and his son fell. Adam gasped for air and finally looked over the edge.

"This is it, dad." Blaze told him. "I'm not afraid anymore." The two dark energy users fell into the center of the Spiral Core. With their energies merging with that of the Spiral, a burst of lightning ignited Flint's dark energy trail. Adam noticed this and ran, but was caught in the blast. Adam slammed into the wall and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Ryan, help the pirates fighting over by the waterfall," Lenora shouted. The young pirate saw a metallic figure runout of Flint's tower. "Able, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Adam?"

"Adam sent me down to help," Able responded. "I'd have been here sooner, but there were still dark pirates in the tower." Able looked around. "What can I do to help?"

"Stay in this area and help thin out the army. We've all got our hands full." The two heard an explosion and looked up to see smoke pouring from the tower. "Be safe, Adam."


	20. Chapter 19 An End, Once and for All

Ch. 19 An End, Once and for All

 _"Gotta keep moving," Blaze told himself, "I need to start working on a way home as soon as possible." The privateer ran down the streets of Spain._ Still don't know where I am, exactly. _Blaze looked behind him. There was still no sign of the fast-talking woman from King's Row._ Wherever I am, I need to get back home. I need to know if Adam and Gracie are alright.

 _"You look lost, amigo." The high-pitched monquistan voice drew Blaze's attention. He turned around to face a young Hispanic woman. Her brown hair was shaved down on one side with it reaching down to her shoulder on the other. She wore a bright purple trench coat and had purple wires moving along her body from her head to her arms._

 _"I'm fine, thanks." Blaze continued on his way. The young woman grabbed Blaze's stump._

 _"Not a lot of amputees walking around without prosthetics these days. Don't like machines?" Blaze shook his follower off._

 _"That's none of your business." The woman chuckled._

 _"Chico, in my line of work,_ everything _is my business." The Hispanic woman pushed her hair out of her eyes. "My name is Sombra. My employers saw that lightshow you caused in King's Row. They were very impressed." Blaze felt something jab into his stomach. The privateer looked down to see a machine pistol pointed at him. "Even if you think about running, my employer's best sniper already has you in her sights. One wrong move, and you're dead." Blaze moved closer to Sombra._

 _"Tell her to take her best shot." Sombra sighed._

 _"Wrong answer, friend." Blaze saw a light glisten on the roof of a building. He rolled out of the way as a bullet hit the ground. "Remember, we need him alive!" People scattered around the area. Blaze flipped over a table outside of a café for cover._

Think. I need a weapon. _A tap on his shoulder and a pistol being handed to him butt first relieved him momentarily. A blonde woman wearing a white jacket with a circular grey and orange insignia on the shoulders, a blouse with orange trim and a pair of black pants motioned for him to take the weapon._

 _"Are you alright?" Blaze recognized the blonde as the woman that Lena had brought to the Watchpoint. "Dr. Angela Zeigler, callsign: Mercy, at your service."_

 _"Thanks." Blaze poked out of cover and took a shot at Sombra, just barely missing her shoulder. "That woman said she had a sniper on me."_

 _"Widowmaker," Angela cursed under her breath, "Fareeha, Widowmaker is on site. Get back to the watchpoint and get your armor on." Angela drew her own pistol and laid out a spray of pulse munitions. Blaze moved from the cover of the table and unleashed a spray of bullets at the world-renowned hacker. Sombra threw a small circular device at Angela. Fearing for his new ally, Blaze teleported to the Swiss doctor and warped them onto a nearby balcony. The device glowed and Sombra appeared in its place._

 _"Impressive, mi amigo," Sombra chuckled. The hacker held out her hands and took control of the fleeing omnics. "But you'll have to do better than that." The omnics slowly trudged to the building. Blaze saw a decorative sword hanging from the wall inside the building. He busted the window with his pistol and grabbed the weapon from the wall._

 _"Cover me," Blaze ordered._

 _"You can't be serious. You're going to fight them with a sword single-handed?" Blaze swung the blade through the air. He held his hand over his stump and watched as an energy blade formed in place of the limb. The privateer bent the blade at the joint where his elbow would be._

 _"I have to. They want me, but I'm not letting them take me. I need to know that my family is alright." Blaze jumped over the edge, stabbing his sword into the side of the building to slow his descent. His boots hit the ground, the thud echoing through the street. "Who's up first?" Two brutish omnics charged the privateer. Blaze held up his sword and slashed at the first omnic, his blade cutting it in half. He stabbed the other with his energy blade and twisted, removing a large piece of its circuitry when he pulled out. As three more omnics approached Blaze, he warped behind them and tossed his sword into the air. He quickly drew his pistol and shot them through their heads. Holstering his pistol, Blaze caught his sword and blocked a strike from a steel pipe. Blaze pushed back, knocking the omnic into a fountain, frying his circuits. The privateer saw a reflection of himself for the first time. His once black hair had turned silver. "Well, that's new."_

 _"I'm sure I can help you find your family," Sombra offered. Blaze shook the wires from his sword._

 _"I don't trust terrorists. You'll need another pawn to play whatever game you're playing." Blaze made an 's' on the ground with his sword and stabbed into the ground next to it. Angela saw this._

 _"That mark and the way he fights. It looks so familiar." Angela ran into the building, searching for a way down to the ground._

 _"You can still walk away." Blaze picked his sword back up. Sombra put her pistol away._

 _"I'll be back." Sombra shimmered and disappeared. As the Hispanic woman disappeared, Blaze felt a throbbing in his head. He dropped the blade and dark energy began to build up around him. A light-blue light streaked in front of him as Tracer arrived._

 _"You okay, luv?" Tracer leaned down, holding Blaze to keep him from shaking._

 _"The pain," Blaze groaned, "My family. Why won't it stop?!" Angela ran to the pair. She took out a needle from her purse and stuck it into Blaze's neck._

 _"This is a sedative. Hopefully, you'll fall asleep soon. We can't have you causing another act of destruction." Blaze continued to violently shake._

 _"It won't work." Blaze stood up with ease, the sedative having no effect on him. "This energy around me keeps me moving as long as I'm filled with rage. And it won't end because my family is GONE!"_

* * *

"Adam, get up," Sagittarius shouted, attempting to wake his owner. There was no response. Nothing he said could get through to Adam in his current state.

"Mr. Silver," a voice called to Adam. After hearing this, Adam awoke. Adam struggled to stand up after the force of the blast. His clothing had seemingly melted into his skin and blood dripped from multiple wounds from the explosion his brother and uncle had caused. Wires stuck out from his damaged prosthetics. His vision blurry, the young pirate saw a shadowy figure make its way toward him. "Get up." Adam slowly rose from the ground, his pistol still in his hand.

"Who are you?" He limped toward the now pitch-black outline of a human being.

"We are darkness." As the being spoke these works, images flashed through Adam's mind. He saw Lenora under Flint's influence, his brother trapped in his Kane armor, Ryan's rage after his wife's death, and Brave's final moments with his daughter.

"You made Flint what he is today."

"No. He merely discovered the power we possess. It was his choice to harness our power." Adam walked with the sentient being.

"It's my job to destroy you and that's exactly what I'm going to do." The dark figure chuckled.

"That may be, but there is always a choice." As they continued down a dark hallway, three archways opened. "The choice to simply destroy us is easy, but all of those who were under our influence, regardless of willingness, shall perish." An image of Lenora flashed through Adam's mind. He didn't know if he would be able to live without her in his life. "You are unsure. You could instead choose to control us."

"How would that work?"

"You will die, but your mind would allow those who have been possessed by our powers to live on." Adam thought and considered this option. If everyone could live at the cost of his own life, it would be worth all the pain in the end. "There is one final option: the purge. You possess a rare light energy which your people call the Golden Aura. If you add your energy to ours, the darkness will be purged from every unwilling victim of our power in the Spiral. Everyone would live, however, because of your injuries, your chances for survival are slim." Adam contemplated this _. A chance to see Lenora at least one last time._

"Why are you telling me all of this? Why not let the current fight continue and stay in power?"

"We have seen what our influence has caused to your world. Darkness is a form of power, a way to bring balance, but in the wrong hands destruction is inevitable. We have seen this and know it must end. Either we must perish or take a new leader. The choice is yours." The dark figure disappeared and Adam looked at the archways. To his right, he saw a large electrified power source. He looked in his hand and saw his pistol.

 _It would only take a few shots._ _A quick end._ Adam looked left and saw a control console. It had two electrified rods on either side. _Flint was able to manipulate dark energy on a whim so it must be possible._ He looked down at his body and saw how mangled it had become from his injuries. _If I do this, I'll lose what little humanity I have left._ There was a screen above the archway in front of him. It showed a dark pit of a strange liquid, pitch black in appearance like so many encounters with its power in the past. _I could see Lenora again._ Adam walked until he was equidistant from each choice. "Destruction, control, or the purge." Adam took one last glance at his pistol before throwing it aside.

"Adam," Sagittarius attempted once more to gain his attention, "What are you doing?!"

"For Lenora." He ran forward and jumped off the ledge. As he fell, time seemed to slow down for him. He saw many images of the past: the first time he met Lenora, freeing his brother, Brave's final moments, Riley protecting him, and Lenora and Ryan's final goodbyes. He remembered Catbeard's final words to him and it finally made sense. "Don't be scared, Adam," He told himself, "It's not an end, once and for all. It's just a new beginning; a new world."

* * *

"Keep fighting!" Lenora shouted as she fought back to back with Able. "We need to give Adam more time." A spark caught her in the shoulder. She took out the pistol Adam had given her. "For Adam." As she loaded the pistol, she looked up and saw a body falling from the top of the tower. She saw a glimpse of gold and knew it was Adam. "Adam!" As his body hit one of the lower floors, a burst of golden energy started to pulse form the building. The wave moved through all of Skull Island. As the dark pirates and opposing clockworks were hit by the energy, they stopped fighting and looked at themselves. They were free. Even Lenora felt the last remnants of her dark energy escape her body. The golden wave of energy moved through all the stormgates.

* * *

"Continue the assault men!" Admiral Nelson shouted. "They can't last much longer." He saw a ray of light head their way. "Take cover!" The sailors of the Marleybone Navy hit the deck and felt the energy roll over them. The admiral looked at his traitors and noticed them seeming docile.

"Admiral, what happened?" The dog leader turned toward the stormgate to Skull Island and smiled.

"They did it. It's over."

* * *

Similar situations occurred in all the realms of the Spiral. The Mooshu emperor saw his dark archers and ronin return to their previous sanity, Gortez saw his monkeys discard their dark allegiances, and the cowboy ghosts in Cool Ranch slowly faded back into the shadows.

* * *

"It's over! We won!" Riley shouted. "Adam did it!" Lenora smiled as she saw the first ray of light hit Skull Island's ground. Then she realized.

"Adam!"


	21. Chapter 20 One Last Goodbye

Ch. 20 One Last Goodbye

Lenora raced across the former battlefield toward the remains of Flint's tower. She saw piles upon piles of bricks and steel bars. As she lifted a support beam, her shoulder's wound sent a fiery pain throughout her body. Before the beam collapsed on her injured arm, Ryan and the rest of the crew ran to help her lift the heavy object. They proceeded to move the rubble until Lenora moved one final brick.

"Adam!" She shouted as she uncovered the pirate's body. She was horrified to see what had happened to him; his body mangled, burned, and torn to shreds, wires jutting from his prosthetic limbs. Lenora leaned against his chest and was relieved to hear a heartbeat. "Flint. He's lucky he's dead right now or I'd kill him myself."

"Lenora," Adam coughed, "You made it."

"You just got me back. I'm not going anywhere. What happened?"

"Blaze tackled Flint. They fell into the Spiral Core." Adam coughed some more. "Got caught in the explosion from the energy." Able's geared body moved toward his creator's brother.

"That blast of gold energy was them?"

"No, they were the first explosion." Adam struggled to move, unable to get up. Lenora moved more of the debris and gasped. Adam had been impaled through his heart, the metal bent to the side.

"Oh, God. Adam." Ryan was sick just looking at the sight. Out of all of the times Adam had been impaled, this one was the worst.

"There was a being made of pure dark energy. He called himself Darkness. He said there were three choices: control them, destroy them, or purge them. I couldn't control it. I'd be no better than Flint." Adam looked at Lenora. "Couldn't destroy it either; I couldn't lose you again." Lenora held Adam's hand. "Purge was the right choice. Nobody else dies. It's over." Adam coughed up blood and Lenora cried. "Riley, come here." The young pirate walked over to her guardian.

"Sagittarius," Adam lifted his arm as he spoke to his personality matrix, "Remove yourself from my body."

"What? You can't be serious. There's gotta be-"

"Now!" The crossed sword and pistol on Adam's wrist disappeared as Sagittarius' control chip resurfaced. He took the chip and put it on Riley's wrist. His symbol transferred to her arm. "I'm sorry that I won't be here to protect you like I promised your dad and share our stories. All I can give you is something to remember the both of us by."

"I never knew my mom and I have no idea where my uncle is," Riley started sobbing, "I watched my dad die. Now you? You can't die. You're all I have left!" Adam held Lenora's hand tighter.

"Maybe it's better this way." Lenora shook her head.

"Don't say that. You're going to be fine. You're always fine." Lenora felt Adam push something into her hand. He let her hand go and touched her face. "You're not saying goodbye!"

"I always did hate goodbyes," Adam chuckled. "You've got a good long life ahead of you, Lenora. Live it. For me." Adam coughed. "Please, take your time. I'll save you a seat at the bar." He saw Lenora's face, then a bright light, and, finally, nothing.

* * *

 _Adam wandered through the shadows until he came across another bright light. He followed it until he reached the source. His parents were waiting for him with open arms. Adam smiled and accepted their embrace._

 _"There's no more pain, son." Avery and Alexis guided him through the door to a shimmering pub. Adam surveyed the room and saw his fallen friends, allies, and soldiers. "Enjoy your peace." Adam left his parents and took a seat at the bar. He looked to his right, staring at the empty seat. Memories flooded his vision. He remembered meeting Lenora, protecting her from Blaze, their first dance, escaping Skull Island together, their argument after meeting with the Spiral Council, waking up to her face, walking with his prosthetics, with her, for the first time, losing her to Flint, rescuing her from her own mind, leaving her to fight Flint, and his last goodbye to her._

My favorite memories. They were always with her. _The musketeer got up from his chair._ I can't go on without her. _Adam went back to the door. He tried to pry it open, but he couldn't leave. "No! No!" Adam grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it against the door. "I- I don't want to go!"_

* * *

"Adam!" Lenora shouted. Ryan and Riley joined her as they shook their captain, hoping to wake him up. Adam's golden aura shimmered around his body faintly and faded away.

"C'mon, Adam," Ryan shouted, "Don't you quit on me now." Sagittarius appeared over Riley's shoulder.

"What…" Although technically being a mental projection of Adam and Avery, Sagittarius still struggled to comprehend what had happened to Adam. "What did Adam put in your hand?" Lenora looked down at her hand and opened it. She broke down crying as she saw a ring.

* * *

 _"I'm alone again. First, my mother. Then, my father. Now, my brother?!" Blaze's black aura surrounded his body. The pirate walked down a street to the edge of the sea. He screamed as he released his dark energy into the mass of water. Angela went to see if he was alright when she felt an arm on her right shoulder. She turned to see Fareeha's armored body._

 _"Leave him be. He needs to let it all out." Angela knew that she should still comfort him, but she didn't know why._

 _"This is all Flint's fault!" Blaze slammed his arm into the ground, breaking the cobblestone street. "You started it all when you killed Alexis!"_

 _"Alexis?" Angela asked, shock and confusion filling her voice._

 _"My mother," Blaze answered._

 _"Your mother's name is Alexis?"_

 _"Was. She died years ago." Blaze's shadow aura disappeared and he turned to the Overwatch agents. "Not that it matters." He held out his arm. "You seem like good people. I've caused too much destruction. Lock me up forever if you want. I'm done with the pain." Fareeha took Blaze's arm, keeping a tight grip. The group walked through the damaged streets, stopping by the sword Blaze had used. Angela picked up the blade, watching moonlight glisten off the metal._

 _"The way you fought. I've never seen something so fearless, except from one person."_

 _"Who?" Angela was about to answer when Blaze fell to the ground. Fareeha kneeled down next to him._

 _"I think he passed out." The Swiss doctor held her fingers against his neck._

 _"It looks like you're right." Angela lifted his wrist. Blaze inhaled and sat straight up._

 _"Oi, luv. You right scared us, mate." Lena lightly punched the stranger's shoulder. The silver-haired pirate didn't move._

 _"I… I don't believe it."_

* * *

 **A.N.: I did it. Merciless Adam Silver has died. I killed myself off. Bummer ending. So sad, much feels. The end. JK. We have a couple more chapters left. Lenora still has work to do and Blaze has questions he needs answered.**


	22. Chapter 21 Time for Mourning

**A.N.: The final update for Book 6. I'm so glad that all of this has come to a head. It's been a long ride, but it's been amazing. Hope you enjoy the end of this story. But don't worry, there's still more to come.**

* * *

Ch. 21 Time for Mourning

"Set those charges around the remnants of the tower," Lenora ordered, "I don't want there to be anything left of it." The group of pirates and clockworks she was commanding did as ordered and cleared the area. The explosion leveled what remained of Flint's tower, the dust sweeping across the island.

"Lenora," Draco chimed in, "We've got to go." The swashbuckler walked away from the tower.

"With all of the dark pirates that surrendered on board the prison ship and so much damage done to Skull Island, I need to help rebuild. We need a strong leader right now," Lenora stated.

"It's been three days, Lenora. It's time." Lenora twisted the ring on her finger. "You lost someone special, but your friends also lost someone the day this all ended. They need you." Lenora kicked sand from the ground. "This is also the day Jinx goes to prison for her crimes."

"Jillian," Lenora corrected, "Her name is Jillian. Flint gave her that nickname; I won't use it." The redhead sighed, "I'll be ready in an hour."

* * *

"Ryan, are you ready yet?" Peyton had put on a long black dress and black pearl earrings. She walked into Ryan's room of his new apartment next to Kraken Skull Tavern. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, already in his black suit. "Hey, you okay?"

"I was just thinking about some things," he admitted.

"Like what?" Peyton sat down next to him.

"How I don't know if we should get together. Not yet anyway." Peyton moved back a couple inches in shock.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because Adam's gone. Because he was my best friend and it doesn't feel right for me to be happy when so many have lost so much." Ryan felt a hand slap him right across his face. He rubbed the mark and turned to Peyton, tears in her eyes.

"Don't play that game with me," the privateer huffed, "Don't push me away after all we've been through." Peyton wrapped her arms around the assassin. "You've lost so much. Please, don't lose me too." Ryan reciprocated, tears beginning to flow from his own eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The swashbuckler held onto Peyton's shoulders as he broke the embrace. "I just wish I could have had five more minutes with him. I wanted a decent goodbye."

"He wouldn't have given it to you anyways," Peyton chuckled, "He hated goodbyes."

* * *

"They're not letting you stay for the funeral?" Riley and Nelson were walking with Jillian to the prison ship that had come to pick her up.

"I've guess I've been on the loose a bit longer than they liked," Jinx chuckled. She looked out at Skull Island, studying the land. "Back when Kristen and I were with Flint, we could never agree on where we'd build our own house when we had control of the island." She pointed to a small landing on the mountain by the yum fields. "That was where she wanted to build it. I couldn't see why before, but, now, I can; a home with a view of the skyway. A view of the unknown." The privateer took her rifle off of her back and held it out to Riley. "I'm not much of a shooter, and you _are_ an excellent sniper. Take it."

"Why?"

"Because I believe you can put it to better use. And I won't be doing much shooting in prison." Riley took the rifle.

"Your father would be proud of you," Nelson stated. The teenager smiled and put the rifle under her shoulder.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go." Jillian held out her hands as two redcoats clasped her in irons. "Tell everyone that I wish I could be there. Adam deserved that much." The redcoats grabbed her by her arms and guided her onto the ship.

"Come on," Nelson said, "We should get going."

* * *

 _"Adam," Avery called out, "Come join us, son." His son was still sitting at the bar, staring at a full glass of yum. Avery got up from his seat next to his wife and went to the bar. He took a seat next to Adam, who remained silent. "Adam, you won. Flint is defeated. Why do you seem so down?" The musketeer held the glass in his right hand._

 _"I could say it's because I'm still getting used to the peace and quiet. I could say it's because Blaze should be here, but he's probably wherever Flint is, paying for his crimes. I could say it's because I don't deserve to be here. None of those would be the truth." Adam downed his drink in one gulp. "Before I died, I told Lenora I'd save her a seat at the bar. Stupid thing to say, but I meant it. Problem is I'm here and she's back there. She's got a full life ahead of here. That means an eternity of waiting for me." Adam set the glass back down on the bar. "I never like waiting, but I made a promise to her: 'I'll save you a seat at the bar.'" Adam watched as his glass of yum instantly refilled itself. "Well, I'm here at the bar. Alone. And all I wish is that I could be back there with her." Adam picked up the glass again, but set it back down. "I know there's no going back, but I still want to." Adam saw his mother laugh at something Brave had said at the table. "You should probably get back to her. If you need me, you know where to find me." Avery frowned and walked back to the table._

 _"He wants to go back, doesn't he," Death asked. Avery nodded. "In my eternity of existence, there have only been a handful of people I believed deserving of a second chance; you all included." Death looked at Avery. "Everything has a price. Are they willing to pay it?"_

 _"I'd bet my soul on it," Alexis stated._

* * *

"We are gathered here today to honor a man who brought peace to the Spiral at the cost of his own life." Nelson had Adam's weapons in his hand. "He was a pirate, a warrior, a leader, a protector, a lover," the one-armed dog set the weapons down by Adam's headstone and turned to Lenora, "And I'm honored to say he was a friend."

"After everything I'd done, Adam willingly took me back on his crew. Despite all of the pain I'd caused." Pedro laughed. "You know, Autumn said something just before she died: You don't control who lives, who dies, who tells your story. I disagreed with her then and I disagree with her now. Adam controlled who lived, he made sure no one else died, and I'm going to make sure everyone tells his story."

"Adam," Able stated, "Did the impossible. He brought us all together. Millions of people from all across the Spiral. How many people can say they united the realms to save everyone?" Able removed a gear from his arm and placed it on Adam's coffin. "He freed me to make that possible. Because of him, I have a purpose."

"Adam had a way of doing that," Bonnie stated, "He'd drag you through hell, but he'd always have something for you to do. He gave us so much." Bonnie's orange aura surrounded her hand. "I just wish we could give something back to him."

"I'd give up my powers if it meant bringing him back," Ratbeard stated. Lenora picked up a shovel and began to pour sand into the grave, covering Adam's coffin. Everyone joined in, putting their captain to rest. Lenora stabbed her shovel into the ground after the last of the sand was moved.

"Before Mary left with Hannah and Jillian, she said she could bring Adam back. A simple necromancy spell. I said no." Lenora drew the pistol Adam had given her just before he'd left for the tower. "Whatever came back wouldn't be Adam anymore. It'd just be a shadow; like Phoenix." Lenora put the pistol on Adam's headstone, a tear flowing down her right cheek. "But, no matter what, I'd still give anything for one last moment with him." Gracie walked up to the swashbuckler.

"After everything, we all would," the dog stated.

"I'd be happy to reunite you with him." A spark bullet went between Lenora and Gracie's heads, barely missing Adam's grave. Lenora drew her sword, ready to fight. Gareth smiled, pistol in hand. "Flint was a good leader, but maybe it's time for a regime change." A gust of wind blew Gareth's slick black hair out of his face. "Adam was a brave one, but he was weak. He deserved to die." Lenora charged at the dark witchdoctor.

"You didn't know him!" Lenora's attack was repelled by a reflection spell. "At the end of all things, Adam was stronger than you'll ever be! He deserved to live!" A bright golden light surrounded Lenora and those with powers on Adam's crew.


	23. Chapter 22 The End of All Things

Ch. 22 The End of All Things

(Inspired by the song by P!ATD)

 _"Red Lenora Noble." The swashbuckler looked around. She and her crew were surrounded by nothing but darkness. A group of figures moved toward the pirates. Brave, Autumn, Will, Avery, and Alexis. "Crew of the Golden Archer. You've done well. You've fought valiantly throughout the past few years, writing your story. But, this story isn't over yet. There's still one last fight."_

 _"Then why bring us away from the fight," Wing asked, "Gareth desecrates your son's grave and you bring us away? It doesn't make sense."_

 _"It is for that reason that we've brought you to this place removed from space and time." Alexis stepped ahead of the group. "My son wants to come back, and we want nothing more than to send him back, but for what we want most, there is always a cost." The brunette privateer laid her hands on Lenora's shoulders. "You all said that you'd give up your powers to bring him back. Did you mean it?"_

 _"Of course," Jordan stated. Alexis looked into Lenora's eyes._

 _"Do you truly love my son?" Lenora pulled the ring he'd given her from her finger. She held it up to Alexis._

 _"With all of my heart." She put the ring back on her finger._

 _"Take care of him for me." Alexis stepped back in line with the others._

 _"I'm proud of you, pipsqueak," Brave chuckled. Riley ran up and hugged her dad._

 _"I'll miss you." A woman with long brown hair, done in a ponytail, walked up next to Brave and Will._

 _"Mom?" The woman hugged Riley._

 _"I wish I could have watched you grow up, my little Riley." Sera broke the embrace. "You have a family out there, Riley. Don't lose sight of them." Riley walked back to the group._

 _"I knew you'd find someone better," Autumn said._

 _"I had a bit of help," Ryan responded._

 _"Don't let her go."_

 _"If you truly want him back, you have to act now." Lenora and her crew charged up their auras. A burst of color filled the dark space, flying into the unknown._

 _"Wait," Ratbeard realized, "Won't Death just reclaim him?" Captain Avery smiled._

 _"Even Death knows a soul that deserves life." A bright white light blinded the crew as they returned to reality._

* * *

"If he really deserved life, he'd be here," Gareth drew his staff to block Lenora's sword strikes. He slammed it into the ground, raising a small squad of skeletons. Lenora slashed her sword up, splitting a skeleton in half. Gareth released a pulse of dark energy, knocking down the pirate crew and Nelson. "Amazing what a little bit of dark energy can do for you. Unlike you, I chose this life." Gareth drew his pistol again, pointing it at Lenora. "I'll make sure that Phoenix comes back stronger than ever." Lenora waited for the gun to fire, but was shocked to see Gareth looking past her. She turned around and saw a swirling golden vortex behind Adam's tombstone. A single, booted foot stepped out of the vortex followed by another. The figure continued out, his appearance blurred out by the light. He picked up the sword, staff and pistols from Adam's headstone and put the belt on his waist. The light faded away and the figure's brown eyes blinked. "That's impossible," Gareth whispered.

"Why's that? As far as I remember, I have a knack for doing the impossible." The figure slammed the dragon staff into the ground, holding the skeletons in place and drew his pistol and shot all of the summoned skeletons, sending them back to the grave. Gareth held his staff up, but the pirate was faster, using Adam's sword to cut the staff in half along its length. He grabbed Gareth by his shirt collar and lifted him an inch from the ground. "I could kill you now, but that wouldn't be fair after the shock you've received. I'll give you two days head start. After that, I'm coming after you." Gareth fell into the sand and scrambled back to the docks, picking up the broken halves of his staff. Lenora and the crew watched as the Dark Archer decloaked and sailed away. Lenora stood up, brushing the sand from her outfit.

"Adam," Lenora gasped, "Is that really you?" The figure turned around, a smile on his face.

"That bar was awfully lonely," he chuckled. Adam scooped Lenora in his arms and planted a kiss on her lips. The swashbuckler instantly reciprocated. They broke the kiss as Lenora felt Adam's arms.

"Your arms. They're both back." Adam stretched each of his limbs.

"So's my leg. And my eye." Adam laughed with joy. "I guess dying does a body good." Ryan slugged Adam in his shoulder. "Ow, it was a joke." Ryan embraced Adam, holding him close.

"You're an asshole. Do you know that?" Adam smiled.

"I've been told that a number of times." Everyone surrounded Adam, hugging him, poking him to make sure he was real.

"Well, since you're alive, Captain Silver, you should know about your brother's fate," Nelson interrupted.

"Nelson, I just got back. Can't we discuss this another time?"

"I would think you'd like some good news." Adam was prepared to argue when Riley grabbed his hand.

"You'll love what he has to say."

"The other day, Riley came with me to a meeting with the Spiral council. Your personality matrix had quite a number of your memories stored in him. Including, you and Blaze's fight with Flint. The council saw Kane willingly give his life for the survival of the Spiral. It is my pleasure to inform you and Ms. Conrad that Blaze has been cleared of all charges due to his valiant efforts to protect the Spiral." Gracie held her paws over her mouth, holding back tears. Adam went to the engineer and hugged her.

"I wish I could have saved him. He always talked about how he was scared to die to make things right."

"He died a hero," Gracie said between sobs, "He wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Besides, all he wanted was for his _brother_ to have a life after this war." Gracie wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. "Anyway, I know you'll find a way for his memory to live on." Adam let go of Gracie and moved to the Admiral.

"Admiral Nelson, is your ship still here at Skull Island?"

"Yes, I don't leave for another two hours." The dog looked to his ship at the docks then back to Adam, his eyebrow raised. "Why do you ask?"

"I need a favor."

* * *

"We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Merciless Adam Silver and Red Lenora Noble in the bonds of holy matrimony." The crew had moved from Adam's abandoned grave to Nelson's ship for a wedding that had been postponed long enough. Nelson stood between the two pirates whose hands were joined, waiting to hear the words that would bind them as husband and wife. "I assume you have vows to state? I haven't performed a marriage on my ship before."

"We've got vows, Nelson," Lenora chuckled. Adam's hands shook as he took a deep breath in.

"When I first met you, the first thought in my head was, 'why is this woman attacking me?'" Adam's crew snickered at their first encounter with the swashbuckler. "I saw a woman who thought she was in danger and was willing to fight for her life. Then I got to know you as part of my crew. After that, I saw a woman who would fight to protect others' lives. I got to know a woman who could make me feel better about all of the crap we were going through. A woman who stood by me when I wasn't myself. A woman who I'd go through hell and back to see one last time. When I jumped from that tower, there was only one thing driving me to do it. I couldn't have cared less if the Spiral hated me for what I did as long as you were still in it." Adam rubbed the backs of Lenora's hands with his thumbs. He pulled Lenora's ring out of his pocket and slid it onto her ring finger. "Whether near or far, I am always yours. I love you, Red Lenora Noble." There was a small round of 'awws' before Nelson raised his hand for silence as Lenora recited her vows.

"One of the hardest times of my life was seeing you stuck in that hospital bed. I kept thinking, 'what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to help him?' I was spending so much time away from you that I lost sight of something: I wasn't just fighting for me. I was fighting for the man I loved. You are my strength, as I am yours. Then, I lost you. You were just … gone. As soon as you walked through that portal, I was thinking that I was dreaming." Lenora looked at Sirena and Morgan. "We gave up our powers to bring you back. So much has changed already because you're here again." Lenora looked into Adam's eyes. "Through these coming years, many things will change, but the way I feel will remain the same." Lenora pulled out a ring she'd bought yesterday. It was gold with two bows pointed toward the diamond, the gem looking like the tip of an arrowhead. She slid it onto Adam's finger and smiled. "I love you, Merciless Adam Silver." Nelson patted his hand on his knee.

"By the power vested in me, as captain of this vessel, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now-" Adam dipped Lenora down and kissed his new wife. "Do that," Nelson chuckled. Lenora and Adam came back up, laughing with joy. The whole crew let loose a round of cheering and clapping. Adam and Lenora stared into each other's eyes, both of them saying the same thing.

"For better or worse, we're together forever."

* * *

"You're leaving?" Everyone had returned to the Golden Archer to celebrate with rounds of yum and food when Ratbeard sprung the news on them. Bonnie Anne was completely blindsided by the announcement. "Why?"

"Aw, come on, ya clever fox. You didn't really expect me to stay on with someone younger than me forever, now, did ya?" The old rat hobbled over to Adam. "I'm gettin' old, Cap'n. I'd like my last few years here to be under my own command." Adam swirled the yum in his glass.

"I won't stop you," he responded, "You've got to find your path."

"I'm leaving, too," Wing announced, "Being a pirate has been fun, but it's time I returned to my studies in Mooshu."

"You were my first companion, Wing. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll be on my way, too. The assassins will need a new teacher," Pedro said.

"You'll do a fine job, brother." Ryan pulled the buccaneer in for an embrace. "It was good to fight alongside you again."

"I'm sure we'll do it again someday," Pedro consoled.

"As will we," Able shook Adam's hand, "Archangel and I must join our clockworks in rebuilding Valencia. Then, we go to Dragonspyre to build our new home."

"Actually, sir," Archangel corrected, "I'll be staying with Adam's crew. I believe I'd like to give the pirate life a try."

"Our crew is getting smaller already," Gracie chuckled. Adam and Lenora looked at Gracie in surprise.

"You're not going back to Marleybone," Lenora asked.

"Blaze became my world. I think the best way to honor his memory is to stay with his family. My family." Adam guided Gracie by her shoulder to the far side of the lower deck.

"I want to show you something." Adam pointed at the wall. There were various metal plates, each bearing the name of the crew members that had passed. All but one. "When we lost Catbeard, I decided to create this memorial wall so that I'll never forget the people we lost to our fights." There was another metal plate sitting on the table. Adam picked it up and twirled it in his hands. He put the rectangular plate in Gracie's hands. "You should be the one to put it up." Gracie rubbed the plate, her paws running over Blaze's name. She took a hammer and nails and pinned it to the wall through the two holes in the plate. She took a step back, staring at Blaze's plate. Adam and Lenora stood on either side of the dog.

"The Spiral will remember him as a hero," Lenora commented.

"No," Gracie sighed, "Not a hero. Not a villain, either. To me, he's just Blaze."

* * *

"How's it feel to be back where you belong Sagittarius?" The golden personality matrix shimmered over Adam's shoulder.

"Great! Just don't die anymore; this whole changing bodies is getting annoying." Riley laughed.

"I'm sure he'll keep that in mind."

"Are you sure you want to stay? I'm not forcing you to stay with me and Lenora."

"My dad gave you a job. Might as well make sure you do it. I'll still be keeping an ear to the sky for word of my uncle. I know he's out there somewhere." Adam left Riley on the main deck and joined Lenora and Bonnie on the bridge.

"Do we have a heading, Captain?" Adam looked out at the horizon, the sun rising in the morning sky. Lenora grabbed his hand, their rings sitting side by side each other. Adam looked down at their hands and smiled.

"Wherever the Spiral takes us, Bonnie." Lenora rested her head back on Adam's shoulder while Adam looked back at the skyway. "Wherever the Spiral takes us."


	24. Epilogue

Epilogue

"He's alive," Blaze gasped. The privateer began to laugh. "My brother's alive!" He pumped his fist in the air. His celebration was cut short by a bullet to his left leg, the metal shredding through his jeans with ease.

"Sniper," Pharah shouted, "Get down!" The Egyptian soldier pushed Mercy behind the fountain, the next bullet hitting her suit's left wing, while Tracer moved in the direction the bullet had come from. She heard another gunshot and blinked out of the way just as a bullet hit the ground. Blaze's silver aura swirled around the bullet wound, closing the wound. Blaze teleported to Tracer, following her to the sniper.

"Stay back, this is my fight."

"Hey, I'm the one they shot. This is my fight too." Tracer pushed Blaze to the ground.

"Sorry, luv, but no one fights her but me." Tracer blinked up the stairs on the side of the building, reaching the roof. "I thought it was you, Widowbitch." The purple sniper put her rifle over her shoulder, an annoyed expression on her face.

"I told you to stop calling me that, Cherie." Tracer drew her pulse pistols, letting out a barrage of bullets.

"You lost the right to ask me for anything when my girlfriend was killed!" Widowmaker rushed Tracer, tackling her onto the metal stairs. "The worst part is the woman I loved first is the one who killed!" Tracer raised a fist to strike back, but Widowmaker pinned it to the ground with her heel.

"That woman is dead, too, Cherie. All that's left is the Widowmaker." The purple assassin grabbed one of Tracer's pistols and pointed it at her head.

"So, what? You're going to let me be with them?" Tracer let out a laugh. "We both know you only kill who you're told to." Widowmaker let out a slight chuckle at the fact.

"That is true, however," Widowmaker lowered the pistol, the barrel scraping against Tracer's chronal accelerator, "I was made to inflict pain without discrimination." The Talon assassin pulled the trigger, the metal chest piece blinking rapidly before its glow disappeared. She leaned into Tracer's ear and whispered, "Adieu, Cherie." She shot her grappling hook upwards and lifted herself to a cloaked Talon aircraft. Blaze and Mercy reached the top step as Tracer got up from the ground, flickering in and out of reality.

"What's happening to her?" Blaze had never seen anyone act like this before. Tracer was reaching her arm out for help, trying to say something, but her voice was filled with static. Angela picked up the damaged piece of metal.

"Widowmaker damaged her chronal accelerator. This thing is the only thing that keeps her connected to the timeline." Blaze stared at the device. "I could explain it in greater detail later, but right now I have to get this to Winston. He's the only one who can help her. The longer this device remains useless, the longer she'll be gone." Blaze snatched the device out of Mercy's hands, opening the core. "Verdammt, what do you think you're doing?"

"You said the longer she goes without this, the longer she'll be gone. She's your family; I won't let you lose her." Blaze found the wirest that had been severed by the bullet and took out his borrowed sword. He morphed the sword into a small torch and heated the tip. He pushed the flame onto the wires, heating the metal, forcing the pieces to reconnect. Putting down the torch, the privateer formed a ball of electricity in his hand and jumpstarted the core. The device beeped twice, signaling power and Tracer began to slowly rematerialize. Breathing heavily, the young brit touched her body to make sure she was really okay. "Are you okay?"

"How? How did you do that?" Dr. Zeigler picked up the dagger as it morphed back into a sword. "No one can just turn an ordinary object into something completely different." Tracer took the device from Blaze and strapped it back onto her chest. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling the pirate in for a hug.

"You… you saved me? Why?" Blaze reciprocated the hug.

"My mother told me that I can't just sit back when someone needs my help."

"Your mother, Fearless Alexis Silver," Angela recited, "long brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, wore silver clothing, weapons of choice were a single blade with a sidearm." Blaze broke off his hug with Lena and stared at the doctor.

"How do you-"

"I thought about the way you fought. You jumped in without hesitation. The fluidity of your moves and absence of fear of damage being inflicted upon you. And what you just said is exactly what she'd say before every fight she ran into." Blaze put his hands over his mouth to cover his shock. "I'm just as confused as you are, but I'm sure that there is much we can learn from each other. Starting with where exactly you come from and how you can do what you do."


End file.
